Five-star Haaland leads City into quarterfinals

MANCHESTER, March 15

Erling Haaland became the third player in Champions League history to score five goals in a game as he led Manchester City to an unrelenting 7-0 rout of RB Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday.

The victory, which equalled City’s biggest European win, sent Pep Guardiola’s side into the quarterfinals 8-1 on aggregate, with Ilkay Gundogen and Kevin De Bruyne also on target for City in a devastating display at the Etihad Stadium.

It was a record-breaking night for the 22-year-old Haaland, who became Manchester City’s top goalscorer in a season as he took his tally for the campaign to 39 goals, vaulting him past Tommy Johnson’s mark from 1928-29.

He also became the youngest player to reach 30 Champions League goals as he moved on to 33, hitting that mark in 25 games, the fewest ever.

“It’s a big night. Firstly, I’m proud to play in this competition, I love it. Five goals. To win 7-0 is amazing,” he said.

“My super strength is scoring goals. Should I be honest? A lot of goals today, I didn’t think. I was just trying to get it into the back of the net,” he added. “A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not.”

Solid Inter

Porto: Inter Milan reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in more than a decade after surviving a late barrage of pressure at Porto to escape with a 0-0 draw which took them through 1-0 on aggregate.

It was a disappointing night for the home fans at a sold-out Dragao stadium as the Portuguese champions tried in vain to wipe out the narrow deficit from the first leg in Italy. A disciplined Inter side seemed content to hold onto their lead and did not face a serious threat until added time.

Then Ivan Marcano’s effort was blocked on the goal-line by Denzel Dumfries and headers from Mehdi Taremi and Marko Grujic hit the post and bar respectively as Porto finally came alive. Defender Pepe was then sent off for a second yellow card. — Reuters

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