Haaland is a machine, says admiring Lijnders | OneFootball

Assistant coach Pep Lijnders described Erling Haaland as a machine after the striker’s hat-trick inspired City to a stunning 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final victory at home to Liverpool.

Match Report

Haaland treble inspires record-breaking City into FA Cup semi-finals

The Norwegian was at his devastating best as he notched up the 12th treble of his Etihad career to fire City into a record-breaking eighth successive FA Cup semi-final.

Haaland opened the scoring with a 39th minute penalty and then added a second with a stunning first half injury time header.

After Antoine Semenyo had then further extended City’s lead early after the restart, Haaland then sealed his treble with a trademark finish just shy of the hour.

As he reflected on a hugely satisfying afternoon, Lijnders made plain his admiration for the quality, desire and predatory prowess of Haaland all the more so given his demands both domestically and on the international stage too with Norway.

“He’s a machine to work with. I like the guys that train like that,” Lijnders said. “I worked with a lot of good strikers with a lot of goals with a lot of finals, with a lot of cups and a lot of trophies.

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“Erling it was his 12th hat-trick for City today and at an age when he has so much. “The second goal was insane.

The way he attacks, he flies, the way he puts the balls to the corner. I love these old school striker goals. “Cross-wait-commit-chip. I love it. “It’s crazy what we are asking.

We know what an important player he is for Norway with a lot of other good players. “But he feels that responsibility to reach the World Cup for the first time in 30-something years.

“He feels the responsibility [to score], and then to press, and play, and come to set, and to run in behind, and to be in the box if it becomes available and to keep the ball when the opposition defends man to man - there’s a lot of things we ask and to do that every three days.

Picture Special

Gallery: Hat-trick hero Haaland eliminates Liverpool!

“It’s clear then that not everything throughout a long, long season will go your way. “It shows character and mentality that he comes back in this fashion.”

The result means City can look forward to another trip to Wembley so soon after last month’s memorable Carabao Cup final triumph.

And for Lijnders, it promises to be another occasion to both cherish and savour, especially with City creating another English record by sealing an eighth successive semi-final appearance.

“It’s special. It’s a sign of a really consistent quality that the team reaches every year. “The FA Cup is so special we all know this.

“But especially for the fans to travel to Wembley again and have a nice day with the family, with the kids and all the passion around it “It’s a special place Wembley and you should not take it for granted reaching a final or a semi-final. For sure we don’t do that, so it’s nice.”