Borussia Dortmund striker, Erling Braut Haaland, become the quickest player to score 20 goals in the UEFA Champions League following his brace in BVB’s 2-2 draw against Sevilla in the second leg of the round of 16.
Haaland breaks Kane’s record
The Norwegian achieved the milestone in just 14 UCL matches, breaking Tottenham Hotspur’s striker, Harry Kane’s record. The England striker had notched his first 20 Champions League goals in 24 appearances. Apart from that, at 20 years and 231 days, he also became the youngest player to score in six consecutive Champions League matches.
20 - Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland has now scored 20 goals in 14 UEFA Champions League appearances; the quickest a player has ever reached 20 goals in the competition, and in 10 fewer appearances than the previous record holder (Harry Kane, 24). Astonishing. pic.twitter.com/jaUCwVmIks
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 9, 2021
Apart from scoring 20 goals in record time, Haaland also smashed several other records. His brace against Sevilla saw him become the first player to score a brace in four consecutive Champions League games. His streak started against Club Brugge in a 3-0 victory, followed by a home victory by a similar margin against the same opponent. He then scored a brace against Sevilla in the first leg of the round of 16 in a 3-2 win, and yesterday’s triumph capped off Haaland’s stats.
Haaland revokes Sevilla players
On a night when Haaland got into the record books, there were also some heated exchanges amongst the BVB and Sevilla players. Haaland got his second goal with a fantastic shot only to get his attempt getting ruled out by VAR due to a previous infringement. BVB, in turn, were awarded a penalty. There was more drama to be followed.
Haaland chased by Sevilla players 😭😭 crying pic.twitter.com/2MnEV2mk0h
— Liam (@_CFCLiam) March 9, 2021
Sevilla keeper Bono saved Haaland’s penalty effort, but VAR intervened again as the keeper had moved off his line. Haaland retook the spot-kick, this time beating the keeper, and he went on to revoke the stopper by roaring in his face, angering the Sevilla players at once. This resulted in a caution for the striker.
Speaking about the incident, the striker said, “I missed and Bono laughed. “So I shot again and he was no longer laughing. When he shouted at me after the first penalty, I thought 'I better score another goal’ and that’s what happened, so great. That’s normal in this world. I have no idea what I yelled at him, I said the same thing he said to me. I don’t know what it meant.”
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Ina Fassbender
