Erling Haaland broke the record previously set by Kylian Mbappe, especially after the Norwegian striker scored an incredible five goals as Manchester City beat RB Leipzig, 7-0, at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland did appear brilliant in the second leg of the last 16 of the Champions League. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Haaland proved his worth at the Etihad after scoring a first-half hat-trick.
Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne did get on the scoresheet, but Haaland helped himself to two more goals in the second half to make Man City history.
Haaland now has 39 goals in all competitions this season – the most any Man City player has scored in a single season. The record was previously held by Tommy Johnson when he scored 38 goals in the 1928/1929 season.
It was Haaland’s 94-year record breaking, but Haaland also knocked out Mbappe in reaching the impressive milestone. Halland became the youngest player to reach 30 Champions League goals, doing so at the age of 22 years and 236 days. Haaland is 116 days younger than PSG and France star Mbappe, who accomplished the feat at the age of 22 years and 352 days.
The former Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund player is also the fastest player to reach that number. Haaland did so in 25 appearances. Haaland and Mbappe are two of the most exciting players in world football and seem destined to become the natural successors of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The rivalry really kicks off in 2021 when Haaland admitted Mbappe’s hat-trick against Barcelona motivated him to score twice against Sevilla.
And recently, Haaland made lyrics about Mbappe, describing him as “phenomenal” and wishing he had played alongside him. “The French are very lucky to have him play for the French national team. I hope he plays for Norway of course!” Haaland told Canal Plus.
“He’s an extraordinary player, very fast and very good, and he has been for many years. What is he, two years older than me? This is crazy.”
“Sometimes you have to think that he still has 10 years left at a high level. He’s phenomenal.” Haaland scored five goals with just 30 touches against Leipzig but he missed the chance to break Lionel Messi’s record. La Pulga became the first player to score five goals in one Champions League match.
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No player has ever scored a hat-trick double in the Champions League and although Haaland came close, he was replaced by Julian Alvarez in the 64th minute and admitted he told Guardiola of his frustrations after he left.