Manchester City are into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the sixth season in a row, but Erling Haaland’s five goals in a 7-0 demolition of RB Leipzig reminded Europe that this time could be different for the Premier League champions.
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Pep Guardiola admitted ahead of Tuesday’s last-16 tie that his reign at City will be determined by winning or failing to win the Champions League despite his side’s dominance in the Premier League in recent years.
Seven years after Guardiola’s arrival, City are still waiting for their first European crown.
That’s why they turned down a boatload of fees and agent wages to win the race to sign Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for £51 million ($62 million) last summer because of the Norwegian’s buyout clause.
In just 35 games, Haaland has rewritten City’s history books by scoring 39 goals in one season.
More Champions League landmarks were achieved on Tuesday as Haaland’s five goals equaled the record shared by Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano for the most in Champions League matches.
In the process, the 22-year-old also became the youngest player to pass 30 in Europe’s top club competition with 32 in just 25 appearances.
“I was very tired after the celebration,” Haaland said. “My superpower is scoring goals.”
City have not always had that clinical edge when it mattered in the final stages of the Champions League.
Missed opportunities have been a common theme in Guardiola’s exit from Europe by the best of margins.
“He is very hungry,” said RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose, who coached Haaland at Dortmund.
“He scored with his feet, with his head, he won the ball twice, he made a deep pass. All of that tonight seemed very simple. It was a special night for him.
– ‘It will be boring’ –
It might have been more special if Guardiola hadn’t backed off Haaland with 25 minutes left.
“I said I’d love to score a second hat-trick, but what can I do?” added Haaland.
Guardiola responded by joking that the star forward’s life “would be boring” if he broke all his records before his 23rd birthday.
But what players and managers have in common is their desire to eventually become European champions City.
Despite Haaland’s impressive stats, there are still teething problems in his first season in England.
At times he has cut a frustrated figure as his runs at the back went unnoticed by his teammates in Premier League defeats at Manchester United and Tottenham.
But Guardiola also insists that Haaland fits City’s style by being an all-round striker who can link up predator-like play inside the box.
“Today he scored five goals and I think he had 30 or 35 ball contacts. This is what we are looking for because we have the feeling that when you participate in the game defensively, offensively, when the ball gets a goal, you are more precise,” said Guardiola.
“He can do it, but it’s hard to score goals when you don’t touch the ball for 40 or 50 minutes.
“Sometimes it’s his fault because sometimes he doesn’t move…
The fear for City’s opponents at home and abroad is that the minor issues may be resolved in the final and most crucial three months of the season.