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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reacted to his five-goal masterclass as the FA Cup holders dismantled Luton Town 6-2 in the fifth round on Tuesday (February 27).
Haaland, 23, ran riot at Kenilworth Road, opening the scoring in the third minute before adding another 15 minutes later. The Norwegian completed his hat-trick - his eighth for City - five minutes before the interval before the hosts pulled one back through Jordan Clark on the cusp of half-time.
Clark scored another seven minutes into the second period, but any hopes of a Luton fightback were swiftly extinguished by City as Haaland scored his fourth of the night. Three minutes later, he bagged his fifth, becoming the first player to score five goals twice for an English club.
Mateo Kovacic added gloss on the scoreline 18 minutes from time as Pep Guardiola's men booked their place in the last-eight in a blaze of glory. Haaland simply posted an emoji of five fingers, denoting his five goals on the night, tweeting:
Kevin De Bruyne matched Erling Haaland's heroics by setting up the Norwegian's first four goals. The fifth was set up by Bernardo Silva.
Manchester City boss hails Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was understandably pleased with the performances of Haaland and De Bruyne at Luton.
Haaland's five-goal haul was the first in an FA Cup game in 28 years since Duane Darby netted six for Hull City against Whitby in a first-round replay. The Norwegian now has 79 goals in 83 games across competitions for City since arriving in the summer of 2022, including 27 this season.
Meanwhile, De Bruyne is back on song after an injury-ravaged first part of the season. The Belgian has two goals and a staggering 12 assists in 12 games across competitions.
Hailing the red-hot duo, Guardiola said (as per BBC):
"Erling is on fire and Kevin... the connection was perfect. Kevin needs players like Erling, and Erling needs players like Kevin.
"Erling needs a guy with the vision, the quality, the generosity. Kevin is the less selfish player in front of goal. Kevin needs the movement from Erling. We know how aggressive they are."
Guardiola's rampaging Manchester City side next take on Manchester United at the Etihad in the Premier League on Sunday (March 3).
