Erling Haaland scored his 19th goal in 12 matches for Manchester City as the Citizens thrashed Denmark giants FC Copenhagen 5-0 at the Etihad.
Manchester City continued their dominance in Group G of the UEFA Champions League with a convincing thrashing of FC Copenhagen.
Erling Haaland, once again, showed his class as he nearly made it three hat-tricks in four consecutive home matches for Manchester City.
The Norwegian goal-machine scored twice to bag his brace and contribute to the demolition of FC Copenhagen at the Etihad.
City were largely ooverwhelming. They dominated the game from start to finish, with Khocholava adding to the woes of the visitors with an own goal.
The brace from Erling Haaland came in the first half, and there is no doubt he would have completed his fourth hat-trick in a row if he was not substituted after the first half.
Also on the score sheet for Manchester City was Ryad Mahrez, who scored from the penalty spot, while Julian Alvarez also struck to deepen the visitors’ woes wrapping off the rout.
The victory leaves the Premier League champions with maximum 9 points from three games, driving them to the top spot of the group.
In the other group match, Borussia Dortmund pummeled Sevilla 4-1 in Spain to finish in the second spot while Copenhagen and Sevilla have just a point after three matches.
Reacting to the match, Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland for a great and solid performance against FC Copenhagen, but admitted that “hat-tricks are not everything.”
Guardiola substituted Erling Haaland after the first half admitting that he had to get everyone involved.
“Erling Haaland just wants to win the game, hat-tricks are not everything”, Guardiola said. “We need to have everyone involved. I know the problems we have now — Kyle Walker is out for a long while — but we can rely on players off the bench like Rico Lewis, even though he is only 17.”
Pep Guardiola added that the champions League is a top priority for the club after the Premier League.
“This is the biggest title we can get, beyond the Premier League, the biggest we can get”, he noted.
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick against bitter city rivals Manchester United at the Etihad in a 6-3 demolition of the Red Devils.
In just seven minutes into the game against Copenhagen, Haaland was set to replicate his Etihad form with a goal against the Denmark side.
A pull back from Jaoa Cancelo ensured the Norwegian gets his 18th goal for Manchester City after beating FC Copenhagen’s goalie to find the back of the net.
Erling Haaland scored again to complete his brace in the first half after converting a rebound form Sergio Gomez into a goal.
Erling Haaland has now scored 36 goals and delivered 6 assists in 23 home appearances since his time at Borussia Dortmund to now at Manchester City.
The 22-year-old former Salzburg and Norwegian striker would have netted his hat-trick if not for Kamil Grabara, who kept out a thunderbolt strike from City’s rampaging forward.
The Premier League giants have now scored 20 goals in their last five games – all ending in a win.
