‘We should do this more’: Five-goal Erling Haaland urges Man City to deliver repeat performances in 7-0 defeat of RB Leipzig… before revealing he told Pep Guardiola he wanted to score a double treble when you replaced it off
- Haaland had wanted to try the ‘double hat-trick’ before his substitution
- The forward became the youngest player to score 30 goals in the Champions League
- The Norwegian also broke Manchester City’s 94-year-old record for goals per season.
Erling Haaland wants Manchester City to play with the intensity of Tuesday night more often after he broke even more records by scoring five goals in a thrashing of RB Leipzig.
The Norwegian raised his tally to 39 goals for the season, surpassing the previous record, set by Tommy Johnson 94 years ago.
He also became the youngest player to reach 30 Champions League goals.
Haaland, who has revealed he wanted to stay despite being allowed to rest by Pep Guardiola, believes City should go to teams with this enthusiasm more regularly.
The 22-year-old was presented with the match ball and man of the match award on Tuesday night.
The Norwegian striker made history several times in City’s thrashing of RB Leipzig
“We work on pressing, especially at home we have to run and press,” said the 22-year-old. ‘We are very good at receiving the ball.
‘In my opinion, we should do this more. i think we can use this [pressing] more, there’s more space for the guys to play in the middle.’
Haaland added: ‘I told him [Guardiola] I would love to score a double hat-trick, but what can I do? I’m blurry in my head.
“I remember shooting but not thinking. She was so tired after my celebrations.
My super strength is scoring goals. Should I be honest? Lots of goals, I didn’t think so. I was just trying to get it into the back of the net. A lot of it is being quick mentally and trying to put it where the goalkeeper isn’t.”
Coach Pep Guardiola was delighted with the ‘great talent’ he has in star child Haaland
Guardiola hopes Haaland’s killer instinct can help City finally lift the trophy they have coveted for years.
‘It’s five in 60 minutes, if I were to do 90 minutes, I don’t know!’ said the city manager.
“He is an incredible guy with great talent, power and mentality. He is a serial winner. Having a weapon like Erling in this competition is important.
“The problem is that every time he doesn’t score two or three, they criticize him. His state of mind is a gift to all of us, a great competitor. He scored five, he had 30-35 ball contacts, that’s what we’re seeing.