Erling Haaland: ‘My super strength is scoring goals,' says Manchester City striker after record-breaking Champions League performance

CNN

Erling Haaland put in another impressive performance, scoring five goals in Manchester City’s victory over RB Leipzig at the Champions League.

Haaland scored a hat-trick in the first half, before City added two more goals in the second period to make it 8-1 over City's German counterparts.

Fans at the Etihad Stadium gave Haaland a standing ovation when he was replaced in the 63rd minutes on Tuesday.

City cruised into the Champions League quarterfinals with goals from Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne.

Haaland's seemingly insatiable desire for the ball to go in the net was the highlight of the evening.

The 22-year old broke many records during the game, including becoming City's highest goal scorer in a single season. This was in addition to breaking Tommy Johnson's 1928/29 record of 38 goals.

The international Norwegian footballer now has 39 goals from 36 games. And it's only March.

Haaland was also the fastest and most youthful player to score 30 goals in Champions League. He was also the youngest player ever to score five goals in one Champions League match.

Luiz Adriano and Lionel Messi are the only players who have scored five goals in Champions League matches.

Haaland stated that scoring goals is his super strength. "A lot of it comes down to being quick in your mind and trying put it where the goalkeeper cannot.

He then said, "I was so tired after all my celebrations," and he laughed.

Pep Guardiola, city manager, heaped praises on Haaland.

Guardiola said, "I've said it many times, he is a happy guy. His locker room mood is always one of happiness.

"He is a gift for all of us. His mentality and size make him a formidable competitor. It was not easy to score five goals.

This season, the Norwegian striker has scored five goals and is on track to break the record for most Premier League goals. He currently has 28 goals and Andy Cole has 34. City has 11 league games to go.

It wasn't just Tuesday's record-breaking volume of goals that shocked observers, but also the variety of finishes.

Haaland proved why he is such an effective goal-scoring predator by putting his head in front of the penalty spot and then being the first to any rebound or loss clearance to punish Leipzig.

Guardiola was Messi's coach in Barcelona when he scored five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012. Guardiola said he didn’t know that Haaland had broken the record of the Argentine.

Guardiola stated, "Now he has the target to do so in the future. That's why I made this substitution.

They told me that they didn't know about it happening with Messi. Because I don't want to use all the players after a game ends, I made a substitution.