Erling Haaland gives verdict on Man City's Champions League prospects after 'statement' Leipzig win

Erling Haaland said he had been brought in to Manchester City to win the Champions League, but stopped short of saying whether the Blues can be considered favourites or not after their ruthless win over RB Leipzig.

Haaland scored a remarkable five goals to set records tumbling in a one-sided second leg of the last-16 tie after a first leg where the striker couldn't even get on the ball. City recorded a 7-0 win at the Etihad to progress 8-1 on aggregate, and Haaland was understandably the man of the moment after the game.

In one interview, he suggested that he is well aware that he was bought to help City end their Champions League duck, although he has now admitted it's too early to consider the Blues favourites.

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Describing the win as a 'statement' of City's intent, Haaland did back his side to challenge for the Champions League title - but only if they take their minds off a potential final and focus solely on the quarter-finals.

"To go through in the Champions League is a fantastic feeling and to do it in this way is even better," he reflected. "To win 7-0 at home – wow, it’s fantastic. It’s an unreal feeling – I’m really proud to score five goals. You saw a hungry Manchester City team that made a statement. I’m really proud of the whole team.

“I don’t want to speak about being the favourites. We have to take it game by game. There are potentially five games left and we’ll see in the end. I think City has the potential to go all the way – of course it’s difficult but if we do good in five games it might be enough, it might not, who knows."

Becoming just the third man to score five goals in a Champions League game,