Haaland’s five-goal haul for Man City against Leipzig draws comparisons to Messi’s quintet against Bayer Leverkusen in the UCL
The legendary, Lionel Messi bagged five goals in a huge win for Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League under Guardiola. On the other hand, in the year 2023, Erling Haaland, also under Guardiola, put in a virtuoso performance as Man City destroyed Leipzig 7-0.
The Norwegian, whose five goals came within a devastating 35-minute spell already had a hat-trick by half time; a penalty, close-range finish and a scrappy third after Leipzig cleared the ball off the line. Additionally, he added two more close-range finish which furthered the pain for the visitors, either side of Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne goals.
Moreover, Haaland was substituted in the 62nd minute. This denied him the chance to score a “double hat-trick” in the encounter. Afte the match, the 22-year-old admitted his frustration at being taken off with half-an-hour remaining.
He said, “I told Pep when I went off that I would love to score a double hat trick. But what can I do!”
Consequently, Guardiola has now spoken about the striker’s feat and compared it to that of Messi whom he succesfully coached a decade ago in Barcelona.
He said, “I know that Leo scored five goals. I remember it perfectly. But it’s incredible that he (Haaland) did it in 60 minutes. It’s not the case with Leo. But Erling is very young and this has to be an extra reason to beat Leo’s record”.
“You know what we are going to say, the numbers of the seasons….the problem with this boy is that when he doesn’t score two or three goals then he will be criticised for the rest of his career”.
“This is the reality. He’s a joy and he’s always happy in the dressing room helping and giving his all for others. He is a great competitor with a great mentality. He’s scored five goals and it’s not easy”.