Man City drew 1-1 away from home against RB Leipzig in the round of 16 clashes of the UEFA Champions League. It was a game that they probably could have and should have won, with the Citizens failing to capitalize on their chances. Erling Haaland failed to get on the scoresheet that evening.
They came into Tuesday’s 2nd leg in a bit of a precarious situation with no real advantage due to away goals being taken from UEFA club competitions. However, all doubts were absolutely thrown out the window as City smashed Leipzig 7-0 at the Etihad.
Did Pep do Messi a favor?
While all City players were a class above their Leipzig counterparts on the night, their number 9 Erling Haaland deserves special mention as the Norwegian striker scored 5 goals past the German outfit. He even managed to do that only in the span of 35 minutes from his first goal.
Pep Guardiola disclosed in an interview how he took his striker off only in the 63rd minute of the game presumably to save Haaland’s energy and protect him from energy. However, some fans have come out and said Pep did that to protect Lionel Messi’s record. Haaland has revealed his conversation with Pep regarding him being subbed off.
Luiz Adriano and Messi are the only other players to score 5 goals in a single Champions League match but Messi’s 5-goal haul came in a knockout game, just like Haaland’s, making these two the only ones to hold the record.
What did Erling Haaland have to say?
It would have been a safe bet to presume Haaland would have gotten a 6th with more than 30 minutes of football remaining, which would have made him the only player to hold the record for most goals in a single match of the Champions League.
Haaland has said that he had notified Pep of his preference to carry on as he is always hungry for goals even if he has already scored 5. Illkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne were the other two goalscorers on the night. Will Haaland smash all goal-scoring records? Is City going to finally win the Champions League? Comment down below.
