Manchester City’s Erling Haaland on Tuesday scored five times as the FA Cup holders ran riot in a 6-2 rout of Luton Town in the fifth round.
Aided by Kevin de Bruyne’s trio of assists, Haaland completed his treble inside the first 40 minutes at Kenilworth Road.
Jordan Clark struck twice to briefly reduce Luton’s deficit to just 3-2, but any Luton hopes of an incredible comeback were ruthlessly erased by Haaland as the Norway striker scored twice more after the interval to send City into the quarter-finals.
Photo: AFP
Mateo Kovacic netted to cap City’s second six-goal haul this season after their 6-1 thrashing of AFC Bournemouth in the English Premier League in November last year.
Haaland now has 27 goals in all competitions this season, making a mockery of the critics who took a swipe at him after a misfiring display in a recent draw against Chelsea.
It was the second time Haaland had hit five goals in a single game for City after his heroics in the UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg win against RB Leipzig in March.
Haaland saluted De Bruyne’s role in his demolition of Luton.
“Kevin is massive. It’s a pleasure playing with him. We know what we both want from each other,” he said
On his own form since returning from a foot injury that sidelined him for two months, Haaland said: “I’m getting back to my best. Finally I’m feeling good.
“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s coming, we’re coming. Exciting times ahead. We are ready to attack,” he said.
“What can I say? Erling is on fire, and Kevin. The connection was perfect. Kevin needs players like Erling and Erling needs players like Kevin,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
City have won 14 of their past 15 games in all competitions as they try to emulate last season’s Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.
Haaland and De Bruyne are rounding into form in time for Sunday’s crucial Premier League showdown against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
City needed just three minutes to take the lead this time as Haaland finished off a flowing move.
Matheus Nunes clipped a clever pass to De Bruyne and he picked out Haaland inside the Luton area, where the City striker fired past Tim Krul with ease.
De Bruyne was the provider again in the 18th minute when Haaland bagged his second goal.
Taking Haaland’s lay-off on the halfway line, De Bruyne unfurled a sumptuous pass that sent the Norway star clean through on goal for a typically predatory finish.
Haaland completed his treble in the 40th minute, accelerating onto yet another sublime De Bruyne assist before dinking a deft finish over Krul.
It was Haaland’s eighth hat-trick for City and his first away from the Etihad since signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Clark reduced the deficit five minutes later with a superb long-range curler and scored again in the 52nd minute, but De Bruyne and Haaland proved impossible for Luton to stop.
Kyle Walker’s eye-catching pass with the outside of his foot set De Bruyne free in the area and he unselfishly teed up Haaland for a 55th minute tap in.
Haaland got his fifth three minutes later, taking Bernardo Silva’s pass and shooting low under Krul’s weak attempted save.
Kovacic smashed a drive past Krul in the 72nd minute to put a bow on City’s evening to remember.
In other games, Abdul Fatawu’s stunning strike gave EFL Championship leaders Leicester City a surprise 1-0 win at Premier League side Bournemouth.
Leicester struck in the 105th minute when Fatawu collected Kelechi Iheanacho’s pass on the edge of the area and curled into the top corner.
Newcastle United survived a scare to beat second tier Blackburn Rovers 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park.
Anthony Gordon’s 71st-minute opener was canceled by Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics eight minutes later, before Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka emerged as the shoot-out hero with two saves.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS