Luton Town 2-6 Manchester City: Erling Haaland scores five goals as the holders advance to the quarter-finals

Erling Haaland scored five goals as holders Manchester City completed a remarkable performance, defeating Luton and advancing to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Kevin De Bruyne, who assisted the first four goals, gave City time and space to cut the ball back and Haaland scored to put City ahead in the fourth minute.

Fifteen minutes later, the pair linked up again, with Haaland running in a through ball past Luton goalkeeper Tim Krul, and the third goal was a similar move, but this time he finished with a delicate dink.

Jordan Clarke curled beautifully into the top corner from 25 yards on the stroke of half-time to finish powerfully seven minutes into the second half, giving Luton 1 with a superb strike that gave Rob Edwards' side hope of a memorable comeback. I returned the points.

But Josep Guardiola's side quickly dashed those hopes when De Bruyne slotted Haaland into an empty net after the Belgian midfielder was cleared by a great pass from Kyle Walker. Ta.

Haaland scores his fifth goal – matches his effort Match against RB Leipzig in last season's Champions League last 16 – His low shot hit Krul, while Mateo Kovacic's long-range shot went past Krul for the visitors' sixth goal.

Luton created chances in the second half, with Stefan Ortega, who started in place of City's Ederson, being pushed in repeatedly. City could have easily extended their lead at the other end, but when Haaland was substituted with 15 minutes remaining, they were not as ruthless as they once were and the hosts were spared any further punishment.

The only real setback for City was the injury to Jack Grealish, who was sent off late in the first half, but they are currently unbeaten in 18 games and are aiming for a second successive treble.

De Bruyne dazzles, but Haaland steals the headlines

There was some surprise before the match at the strength of the City eleven, but Guardiola's decision paid off with his team's clinical results.

When De Bruyne returned, it quickly became clear that he was in good form.

It seems silly that there would be any debate about Man of the Match when Haaland scored five goals, but De Bruyne's performance, especially in the first half, was such that it warranted a debate. It belonged to

Luton could not live up to his pure athleticism. The 32-year-old has overwhelmed them time and time again with his speed and power. When combined with his game intelligence and technical talent, the effect was devastating.

Of course, it was made all the more devastating by Haaland's superb batting performance.

Luton centre-back Teden Mengi did his best to torment the former Borussia Dortmund striker, but Haaland has the ability to not only deal with the presence of defenders, but also the movement and timing of his runs to separate defenders. was there.

Once given the chance – and De Bruyne certainly gave it – there was no doubt about the result.

Haaland has scored 79 goals in 83 games since moving to the Etihad Stadium, and with him in such form, things are starting to look ominous on all three fronts for City's challengers.

player of match

De Bruynekevin de bruyne

luton town

1. squad number6player nameBerkeley

2. squad number18player nameClerk

3. squad number45player nameDoughty

4. squad number9player namemorris

5. squad number14player nameChon

6. squad number30player nameTownsend

7. squad number7player nameOgbene

8. squad number38player namejohnson

9. squad numberTenplayer namewoodrow

10. squad number27player nameHashioka

11. squad number16player namebark

12. squad number15player nameMengi

13. squad number29player namebell

14. squad numbertwenty threeplayer nameKururu

15. squad number17player nameMpanzu