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Erling Haaland has revealed that he was inspired by Manchester United's 2007-08 UEFA Champions League triumph to win the competition as a player.
The Norwegian would have been two months short of his eighth birthday when Manchester United faced Chelsea in the Champions League final in May 2008. The match is remembered as one of the finest in the competition's recent history.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Frank Lampard equalized at the stroke of half-time. The game went all the way to penalties, and John Terry had the chance to win the game with his spot-kick.
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The legendary English centre-back slipped and missed at a rain-soaked Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Manchester United made the most of the lifeline, scoring their next two penalties while Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's decisive kick.
Haaland says he was inspired to win the competition one day as a player after seeing the Manchester United players celebrating the win. Asked to recall his first memories of a Champions League final, he told Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, via Manchester Evening News:
"Manchester United vs Chelsea in 2008. I was eight. When I saw [United] players celebrating, I thought I wanted to do the same and now we are really close."
Haaland has the chance to do just that later today (June 10). Manchester City face Inter Milan in the final at the Ataturk Stadium in a bid to win their first-ever Champions League trophy.
Erling Haaland says he is determined to help Manchester City win the Champions League
Erling Haaland has claimed that Manchester City signed him to win the UEFA Champions League considering they already knew how to win the Premier League before his arrival.
The Norway international isn't wrong. The Cityzens won four league titles in the last five seasons before his arrival at the Etihad. He is the competition's leading scorer with 12 goals in 10 outings this term.
Speaking ahead of the game, Haaland told the Guardian:
"City won the Premier League two times in a row, for example, before I came here – they know how to win the Premier League. The only thing they miss is the Champions League so you can think and read between the words and the lines. I am coming here for a reason. Of course I feel pressure. I would lie if I said I didn’t. I’m here to try to do a thing that the club has never done before and I’ll do my best."
Pep Guardiola may not be bothered by it, but the fact is that Haaland is on a poor goal-scoring run. He has netted just once in their last eight games across competitions.
