BEVERLY HILLS, March 21, (THEWILL) – The sensational young Norwegian Erling Haaland of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund has made it a habit of turning around records in his favour. Saturday was no exception as the striker surpassed his England teammate Jadon Sancho by becoming the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score 33 goals. And, more to save points for Dortmund than to press that advantage further, he made it 34 with a late goal.
It means the 20-year-old now has 34 goals in 36 Bundesliga appearances, which includes 21 goals in 21 games for the 2020/2021 season. His double takes the braces so far scored by Haaland to eight for a club record-equalling feat for a single campaign previously held by Lothar Emmerich, who accomplished it in two seasons, the 1965/1966 and 1966/1967 campaigns.
As remarkable as Haaland has been for the BVB this season and as important as his double was, Dortmund’s drive to avenge their defeat to Cologne at the Signal Iduna Park earlier this season in the ambit of the RheinEnergieStadion did not happen as they would have loved.
It did look like they had it in them to inflict pain on Cologne with the fashion in which they started the match. Dortmund got off to the perfect start when the fiery Haaland fired home inside of the first three minutes. However, the hosts responded well to going behind.
Cologne found it easier getting on the ball more and more as the game progressed and the Billy Goats found their way back into the game five minutes after the half hour mark. Their hard pressing won them a penalty which the referee awarded after consulting with the video assistant referee (VAR). Cologne’s Ondrej Duda sent Dortmund keeper Marwin Hitz the wrong way with his spot-kick to draw level for the hosts.
Although Dortmund came flying out of the blocks in the second half with Youssoufa Moukoko on in place of Julian Brandt, it was the hosts that took the lead, and just like in the first half, it came five minutes after the hour mark, in the second half. This left Dortmund chasing the game to avoid another loss to 14th-placed Cologne.
As it was beginning to seem like Dortmund were going to return home empty-handed, Haaland rose to the rescue, to slide home Ansgar Knauff’s cross from the right at the stroke of regulation time in the second half.
But for Haaland’s contribution, Dortmund will be nowhere near the fifth position they presently occupy. Yet, that was not good enough for Haaland because at the final whistle, his body language clearly demonstrated how badly he took the result because of the draw and the loss of two very important points in the club’s attempt to climb up the league table.
About the Author
