Erling Haaland said Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona on Tuesday gave Borussia Dortmund striker “motivation” for Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Sevilla FC.
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The 20-year-old Norwegian striker scored two goals for Sevilla and only follows Mbappe as the player with the most goals in the Champions League before his 21st birthday, with 18 goals in 13 games. Mbappe, 22, scored 19 goals before turning 21.
Mbappe made a shock 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 a free motivation, so thanks to him,” Haaland said after the match. “He scored some good goals and I got a free kick from him, so it was nice.”
Sevilla took the lead early on thanks to Suso, but Mahmoud Dahoud equalized in the 19th minute. Haaland put Dortmund ahead in the 27th minute from inside the area after a good exchange of passes with Jadon Sancho and then added the lead to 43 from distance after a quick escape. Luuk de Jong scored a late goal for Sevilla.
“We had a good plan,” Haaland said.[Borussia manager] Edin [Terzic] he’s been good and I’ve been talking a lot with him. He said it would be my game today and he would have my chances and I did, so it was an important win.
“It wasn’t good to leave two goals, but it’s good to score three goals away from home and take them with us.”
Like Mbappe, Haaland has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, among other clubs. When asked about his opinion of the Spanish club, Haaland declined saying, “It’s good to be wanted.”
On rumors of a possible departure from PSG, Mbappe said after the Barcelona match: “I have always said that I am happy here. This type of match makes me even happier. The PSG shirt is the one I love very much. color. “