Manchester City's Erling Haaland reaches 40 goals for the season with FA Cup strike
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reached 40 goals in his debut season in England after scoring against Burnley on Saturday
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reached 40 goals in his debut season in English football after scoring twice in the first half in the FA Cup against Burnley on Saturday.
The Norwegian netted five times for City in their amazing 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday night and might well have added more had he not been substituted in the 63rd minute by manager Pep Guardiola.
Back in the line-up for the champions in the FA Cup against Burnley on Saturday, Haaland opened the scoring with a clever finish after 32 minutes, when he ran onto a pass from Julian Alavez and poked the ball past goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell from just inside the area.
And the 22-year-old added a second three minutes later as he ran unmarked into the Burnley area and beat Peacock-Farrell again following a cross from Phil Foden.
The first was his 40th goal of an incredible season, in just his 37th appearance in all competitions.
Having taken his tally to 41 shortly afterwards, he went on to complete his hat-trick early in the second half (his sixth this season) after Foden's shot had hit the post.
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.