<p style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Erling Haaland equalled a Champions League record with a five-goal haul to ease Manchester City into the quarter-finals at RB Leipzig's expense as a 7-0 win for the English champions secured an 8-1 aggregate victory on Tuesday.</b></span><br></p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Haaland also set a new club record for goals in a season of 39 in the process as Pep Guardiola's men reached the last eight for the sixth consecutive season.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">"My super strength is scoring goals," said Haaland. "A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not."</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">City are yet to go all the way in the Champions League, but they have never had a striker of Haaland's quality to make the difference in the latter stages before.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">At just 22 he now has 33 goals in 25 appearances in Europe's premier club competition.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">"Firstly, I'm proud to play in this competition, I love it," added Haaland. "Five goals! To win 7-0 is amazing."</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">The weather was more akin to Haaland's homeland on a snowy night in Manchester, but City did not freeze under the pressure and kept their Champions League dreams alive.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">The tie was delicately balanced after a 1-1 draw in eastern Germany three weeks ago, but a Leipzig side depleted by injury never looked like a match for their star-studded opponents.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Guardiola had kept Kevin De Bruyne in reserve for Abu Dhabi-backed City's 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend and on his return to the starting line-up, the Belgian was back to his best.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Ilkay Gundogan should have opened the scoring after just three minutes from De Bruyne's inviting cross.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Haaland's searing pace then created a chance out of nothing from Nathan Ake's long ball, but Janis Blaswich raced out from his goal to block.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Leipzig did have cause for complaint over two controversial calls that had a massive impact on the game before half-time.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Firstly, VAR spotted a handball against Benjamin Henrichs that led to a penalty that neither the City players nor the crowd even noticed.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">- Denied record chance -</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Haaland fired low to Blaswich's left to maintain his perfect record from the spot for City with his sixth penalty of the season.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Haaland teed up De Bruyne, who smashed a shot against the bar, and then showed his speed and strength to power home a header from the rebound.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Leipzig could have been gifted a route back into the tie when Ederson sprinted from his goal to wipe out Konrad Laimer.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">But rather than send the Brazilian goalkeeper off, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic did not even award a free-kick.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Any doubt over the outcome was ended with the final action of the first half.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Ruben Dias rose highest to head Jack Grealish's corner onto the post and Amadou Haidara's attempted clearance ricocheted off Haaland into the net.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Gundogan's classy finish into the far corner four minutes into the second half rubbed more salt into Leipzig's wounds before Haaland started rewriting the record books.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Firstly, he hammered home at the second attempt after Blaswich parried his initial header to match Tommy Johnson's record of 38 goals for City in the 1928-29 season.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Haaland set a new mark with still three months of the campaign to go when he snaffled up another rebound after Blaswich saved from Manuel Akanji.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">In the process, he moved level with Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano's record of scoring five goals in a Champions League game.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">But Guardiola denied his star striker the chance of another record as he replaced him with Julian Alvarez with 25 minutes remaining.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">"I told him I would love to score a double hat-trick, but what can I do," said Haaland.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Instead, it was left to De Bruyne to have the final say as he curled a superb strike into the top corner in stoppage time. AFP</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</p>