Erling Haaland said Kylian Mbappe’s hat trick for Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona gave Borussia Dortmund’s striker “motivation” on Tuesday in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Sevilla FC.
– Stream LIVE games and playback on ESPN + (US only)
– ESPN champions choose them: compete for $ 4K of Amazon.com gift cards
The 20-year-old Norwegian striker has scored twice for Sevilla and is only following Mbappe as the player with the most goals in the Champions League before turning 21, with 18 goals in 13 matches. Mbappe, 22, scored 19 goals before turning 21.
Mbappe made a blow against Barcelona in Tuesday’s 4-1 victory with his three-goal performance, which Haaland pointed to as a source of motivation.
“When I saw Mbappe score the hat trick, I got free motivation, so thanks to him,” Haaland said after the game. “He scored some beautiful goals and I got a free kick from him, so it was nice.”
Sevilla took the lead thanks to Suso, but Mahmoud Dahoud equalized in the 19th minute. Haaland gave Dortmund the lead in the 27th minute after a beautiful exchange of passes with Jadon Sancho, then added to the lead in 43 nearby, after a quick getaway. Luuk de Jong scored a late goal for Sevilla.
“I had a good plan,” Haaland said.[Borussia manager] Presidents [Terzic] he was good and I talked to him a lot. He said that today will be my game and that I will give my chances and I succeeded, so it was an important victory.
“It wasn’t good to leave two goals, but it’s good to score three goals away and take them with us.”
Like Mbappe, Haaland has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, among other clubs. When asked about his views on the Spanish club, Haaland encouraged him by saying “it’s nice to be wanted”.
About the rumors about a potential exit from PSG, Mbappe said after the match in Barcelona: “I always said that I am happy here. This type of match makes me even happier. The PSG shirt is one that I hold dear.”