Manchester City hammer RB Leipzig 7-0 to enter UCL Quarter-Finals

Manchester City hammer RB Leipzig 7-0 to enter UCL Quarter-Finals

Manchester City delivered a statement performance to the rest of Europe in the second leg of their round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig at home, with the Cityzens putting seven goals past the German side at the Etihad. Erling Haaland scripted history with his awe-inspiring performance on Tuesday night, becoming just the second player after Lionel Messi to score five goals in a Champions League knockout tie, and third overall to find the back of the net five times in the competition.

Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne netted in the second half to add to Haaland’s five-star show and power Manchester City past Leipzig to win 8-1 on aggregate.

The last 16 tie was in the balance following a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Germany in February, but Manchester City blew RB Leipzig away inside the first half to put the game to bed. City opened the scoring inside 22 minutes from the penalty spot through Erling Haaland after a controversial handball call by the VAR against defender Benjamin Henrichs.

Haaland doubled City’s lead just moments after the restart, with the Norwegian heading in the rebound from Kevin de Bruyne’s stinging shot that rattled off the crossbar. It was one-way traffic for the rest of the half, and the inevitable Erling Haaland completed his hat-trick with the final action before the break, bundling in his 37th goal of the season after Ruben Dias’ header ricocheted off the post.

Haaland’s third made him the youngest and quickest player in history to score 30 Champions League goals, and also the first since Lionel Messi to score a first-half hat-trick in a UCL knockout match.

The goals continued to flow after the break, and Ilkay Gundogan made it four in the 49th minute with a superb low strike into the bottom corner. Three minutes later, Haaland added a fourth, bundling in another rebound from a goalmouth scramble to give City a 5-0 lead before showing off his predatory instincts once again to complete his five-goal haul inside 57 minutes.

City completed their rout and put the icing on the cake in the stoppage time, with Kevin de Bruyne curling one into the top corner from outside the area to make it a record-equalling 7-0 victory. With this result, Manchester City stormed into their sixth consecutive appearance in the Champions League quarter-finals, where they will join defending champions Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich.