Erling Haaland was very disappointed that his teacher Pep Guardiola let him leave early, causing him to lose the opportunity to set a unique record in Champions League history.
Early this morning (March 15), Erling Haaland scored 5 goals to help Manchester City beat RB Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round at Etihad.
Norwegian striker Haaland scored a hat-trick in the first half and he only needed 57 minutes to score 5 goals, equal to Lionel Messi’s achievement in the Champions League.
However, Haaland can monopolize the Champions League record if coach Pep Guardiola keeps him at the end of the game.
If he scores one more goal, Haaland will overtake Messi to become the first player in Champions League history to score two hat-tricks in a match.
In the history of the Champions League, only 3 players have ever scored 5 goals in a match.
In addition to Haaland, Messi scored five goals in Barcelona’s game against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012, while Shakhtar Donetsk’s Luiz Adriano did the same against BATE Borisov in 2014.
Some fans believe that the Spanish teacher wanted to protect the legacy of his former student Messi, so he blocked the opportunity to set a record for current student Haaland.
One fan wrote on Twitter: “Pep Guardiola ruined sport”, while another commented: “Pep really doesn’t want Haaland to break Messi’s record.” A third sarcastically: “Pep Guardiola replace Haaland to save Messi’s Champions League legacy.
Erling Haaland told BT Sport (England): “When I left the pitch, I told Pep Guardiola that I would love to score a hat-trick.
Meanwhile, coach Pep Guardiola explained his decision: “If Erling Haaland reaches this milestone at the age of 22, 23, his life will be boring.
However, Haaland also set the record for being the youngest player in history to reach the milestone of 30 goals in the Champions League.
He scored 30 goals at the age of 22 years and 236 days, which is 116 days behind the previous record holder, Kylian Mbappe.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi scored 30 goals in the Champions League at the age of 23 years and 131 days.
Scoring 5 goals in a 7-0 home win, I’m so happy!
Erling Haaland has scored 39 goals in 36 games for Man City this season.
Previously, Johnston was the player who scored the most goals in a season for Man City with 38 goals.