Erling Haaland scored five goals as Manchester City defeated RB Leipzig 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium to win 8-1 on the road. Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne added the other goals as City advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Although Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan also scored, the 22-year-old Norwegian was the star of the show. He is the first person to score five goals in a Champions League match in nine years, and if Pep Guardiola hadn’t taken him off the field, it might have been more.
Although Arsenal maintains a five-point lead in the Premier League championship battle, Guardiola’s club is now in two quarterfinals, and with Haaland in this mood, a memorable season finish could still be in store.
His first goal of the game was a harsh handball call against Benjamin Henrichs at the penalty spot after a VAR assessment. Two minutes later came the second goal, a spectacular header after De Bruyne’s shot had hit the crossbar.
Ruben Dias’ header slid along the line, and the third ricocheted off him from only a yard away, but Haaland is usually in the correct spot. In this stadium, it was his fifth hat trick of the year. Before the halftime horn, the second of them arrived.
Timo Werner was well-positioned to pull one back, he missed his kick, and Ederson was fortunate to escape penalty when he clattered with Konrad Laimer after sprinting out of his area. Nonetheless, the rare shoddy work towards the back never seemed to be particularly expensive.
When will the draw happen?
On Friday, March 17, at 11 a.m. UK time, the quarterfinal and semifinal draws will take place at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The quarterfinal and semifinal draws are open to the eight last-16 winners.
Clubs may have resistance from the same nation because there are no national protections or seedings. Also, they have the option of drawing opponents from the group stage.