New Delhi: Erling Haaland continued his dominating performance for Manchester City as the Norwegian striker scored a brace to help his side win 5-0 over Sparta Prague in the UEFA Champions League. After failing to double their early lead for a long time, Haaland’s 58th-minute acrobatic goal ensured that Sparta never could come back in the game thereafter.
After Savinho made an awkward cross towards him at an unusual angle and tricky height, Haaland scored without looking, as he turned his back to the goal and made a backheel volley. From that point, there was no looking back as John Stones scored in the 64th minute, followed by Haaland completing his brace just four minutes later. The final goal came from the shoes of Matheus Nunes.
Haaland breaks Neymar’s record
Haaland had just surpassed Neymar in Ucl goals. Haaland making legends look mid 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/X7NokNUXav
— Erlking⁹ (@ErlkingHaaland) October 23, 2024
Haaland’s second goal means he now has 44 goals in Champions League from 42 games and has gone past Neymar’s tally of of 43 goals in the competition. The 24-year-old is now level with former Chelsea player Didier Drogba, after breaking a match drought.
The feat was overshadowed more by the first goal Haaland scored, with many experts noting the strength and quality required to score at that angle. His teammate Foden went on to say that he couldn’t have pulled a goal at that angle and lauded the talent of the former Borussia Dortmund striker.
Pep Guardiola reflected on the goal and noted Haaland’s “flexibility and height” that makes him a one-of-a-kind player. Whenever Haaland is scoring, it makes Guardiola’s job slightly easier. Without wanting to overexert Haaland, Guardiola substituted with 10 minutes still left in the game, with some deeming that the Norway international may have missed his hat-trick.
Out of this world! 🌎
🤯 @ErlingHaaland pic.twitter.com/zkDoUdPCCm
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 23, 2024
With the emergence of Stones, Guardiola believes that he has a backup plan in case Haaland is ever on the sidelines due to injury. Guardiola believes that the 30-year-old will be just as impactful as a striker should the need ever arise. During the brief period when Haaland wasn’t scoring, Stones had taken the charge of City, though he may not have the impact that Haaland has on his opponents.
At 24, Haaland is 17th on the all-time list, with many considering him to be the one who can break Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record of 140 goals in the competition. If statistics were to show anything, then Haaland is already ahead of goals scored across competition from both Lionel Messi and Ronaldo by the age of 24, with neither of the two crossing 200 goal mark, whilst the Norway player already has made 273 goals from 326 games.
