BEVERLY HILLS, February 18, (THEWILL) – Golden Boy Erling Haaland of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund is showing no signs of slowing down from the sterling performances that earned him a fearsome reputation last season and the 2020 Golden Boy award. He has simply picked up from where he left on his return from the hamstring injury he suffered early in December.
In Wednesday’s Dortmund’s UEFA Champions League fixture against fourth-placed La Liga side Sevilla, Haaland rewrote the record books as he became the fastest player to reach 10 goals for one team in Champions League history with the leading role he played in their victory at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Sevilla.
The Dortmund forward struck twice in the opening half after providing the assist for teammate and German winger Mahmoud Dahoud to draw level with a long-range attempt against Sevilla, who had opened the scoring with a seventh-minute goal by Suso de la Torre in the first leg of the last-16 of the UCL.
The advantage went to the visitors when Haaland bravely converted Jadon Sancho’s throughball eight minutes after providing for Dahoud. The young Norwegian then added another before the break with precise finishing of a flowing counter-attacking move, placing in a shot from a Marco Reus’ pass beyond Yassine Bounou, in goal for the hosts.
Haaland’s brace on Wednesday brought his tally of goals in the UCL for Dortmund to double figures in just his seventh appearance in the competition. Dutch player Roy Makaay held the previous record as the quickest to do so for one club, but managed to reach double figures after 10 games for Bayern Munich, another German side.
But that was not all that Haaland accomplished on Wednesday. He also wrote his name in gold with the two-goal haul. It was his third successive European double, having netted two in back-to-back fixtures against Club Brugge in the group stage. The 20-year-old joins an illustrious company of only four other players who have ever achieved the feat.
The group includes the best of the best with Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has managed it no fewer than three times; former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, Bayern legend Giovane Elber and two-time Champions League winner Filippo Inzaghi for Milan.
To further buttress the extent of his dexterity, Haaland now has 18 goals in 13 appearances in the European competition in a time when goals are not so forthcoming for many forwards. His goals this season are only matched by the goal machine Lewandowski in Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.
For a better perspective of his scoring exploits at this early stage of his promising career, a comparison with two of the most prolific scorers of the era might suffice. The highest goal scorer in the modern era, Ronaldo failed to find the net in his first 13 Champions League games. Lionel Messi, on the other hand, managed three goals across the same number of games. Haaland already has 10.
At this rate, no records are safe in Haaland’s hands with his legs and head doing more of what has brought him this far. It is no wonder most of the top teams in the top five European leagues are said to be making enquiries about his contract and trying to get to his agent.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
