Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has expressed his love for the UEFA Champions League following his team's latest game in the competition.
The Citizens picked up a comprehensive 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash at the Etihad on Tuesday (April 11). Pep Guardiola now holds a resounding advantage over his former team ahead of the second leg in Germany next Wednesday (April 19).
After the game, Haaland took to Twitter to share a photo of him celebrating his goal against Bayern, captioning it:
"Nothing but pure love for this competition! 🔵 #mancity #UCL"
The Norwegian notably scored Manchester City's third goal of the night in the 76th minute. Just six minutes before, he had set up Bernardo Silva with an excellent cross, which the Portuguese midfielder headed home.
The double strike helped the hosts go three goals up, having opened the scoring through a thunderous 27th-minute Rodri strike. Haaland, meanwhile, is up to 45 goals and six assists in 39 games across competitions, a record season haul by a Premier League player.
Pep Guardiola lauds Manchester City's display against Bayern Munich at Etihad
Pep Guardiola enjoyed one of his best games in the UEFA Champions League as Manchester City manager on Tuesday. A game that many anticipated to be close ended in a resounding win for the reigning Premier League champions.
Guardiola praised his team for their performance against a difficult opponent like Bayern Munich, saying (as quoted by City's website):
“It was an incredible result, but we have to do our game (in the second leg) with a huge, huge personality because they are a top team. Here we have our chances. Here in this stadium, we are something special this season. When we have the momentum we are clinical."
He continued:
“It is the same in Munich. I have been there for three years. I know what it means and the people. But we are going there to score the goals and to try to win the game. To do that will be so difficult (though).”
The result means Manchester City are unbeaten in this season's competition with six wins and three draws in nine games. They also brought an end to Bayern Munich's eight-match winning run in the Champions League.
Next up, City host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday (April 15) before their trip to Bavaria next week.