Erling Braut Haaland continued his spectacular ascent in European football with two more Borussia Dortmund goals to make history as the first player to score five goals in his first two Bundesliga games – with all of them coming in his first hour of football in Germany.
The Norwegian teenager entered play against Cologne in the 65th minute to score twice, having netted a hat-trick against Augsburg on his debut as a 56th-minute replacement last weekend.
His first goal on Friday was a tidy finish from a rebound, with his second an excellent shot from a tight angle after going round the goalkeeper.
Haaland, still only 19, had scored 28 goals in 22 games in the first half of the season for Red Bull Salzburg, including eight in six in the Champions League, to earn a £17m move – the value of his buyout clause – this month.
His 33 goals this season for both clubs have come at an average of one every 46 minutes – and one every 12 minutes for Dortmund.
If he keeps up his Bundesliga scoring rate for the rest of the season – playing every minute of every game – he would end on 117 goals.
Only 23 players have scored more goals in the German Bundesliga this season. No player bar Haaland – with five – has scored more than two Bundesliga goals as a substitute this season.
“It’s simply wonderful – five goals, two games, there are worse starts,” said Dortmund captain Marco Reus.
The big question is after five goals in two substitute appearances, has he done enough to get a start next Saturday against Union Berlin? Maybe not.
“He didn’t train in December due to injury, therefore we have to be careful with him,” said Dortmund boss Lucien Favre.
“He’s not ready to play from the start, we have a plan for him.”
Before Haaland’s arrival against Cologne, England winger Jadon Sancho set up the opener for Raphael Guerreiro and netted his side’s third, either side of Reus’ neat finish.
Mark Uth had made it 3-1 before Haaland stole the limelight once again.
Leeds-born Haaland, the son of former Norway international Alf Inge, is not the only record breaker in the Dortmund side, with Sancho – at 19 years and 305 days – becoming the youngest player to score 24 Bundesliga goals.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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