FT: Man City 5-0 Copenhagen; Watch UEFA Champion league highlights as Erling Haaland hit brace to break Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Record
Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City cruised to a 5-0 Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen at the Etihad Stadium.
The Norwegian netted with his first touch of the game and doubled the lead inside the first half for his 19th goal in just 12 appearances for the club.
An own goal by David Khocholava and a Riyad Mahrez penalty heaped further misery on the Danes in a one-sided game before Julian Alvarez made it five late on with his first Champions League goal after fine work by Jack Grealish. It was that easy for City.
Haaland was substituted at half-time with the match already won and Pep Guardiola’s side progressing serenely into the knockout stages having now picked up nine points from their first three games. .
They top Group G, eight points clear of Sevilla in third place.
Manchester City 1:0 Copenhagen; Goal by Haaland
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Manchester City 2:0 Copenhagen; Goal by Haaland
Manchester City 3:0 Copenhagen;
Manchester City 4:0 Copenhagen
Manchester City 5:0 Copenhagen
Going into the seventh minute of the game, Copenhagen could not have kept Haaland quieter. He had yet to touch the ball. But Joao Cancelo’s cross was deflected into his path and he lashed the shot right-footed beyond Kamil Grabara and into the net.
The chances kept coming for City but the away side were grateful when they fell to others. Grealish had a couple of shots saved, while Ilkay Gundogan was denied well by Grabara. The problems came when the ball fell to the most lethal finisher in the land.
That is what happened when the goalkeeper could only parry Sergio Gomez’s shot into his path and Haaland measured the ball into the vacant net. The only man who could deny him his hat-trick was Guardiola – hooking him in favour of Cole Palmer at the interval.
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