Haaland lauded by Dortmund boss Terzic after Champions League brace

Borussia Dortmund interim head coach Edin Terzic hailed two-goal hero Erling Haaland, highlighting his team ethic in the 3-2 Champions League win against Sevilla.

Haaland scored a brace to fuel Dortmund to a first-leg victory in Tuesday’s last-16 tie at Europa League holders Sevilla.

The Norway sensation became the fastest player to reach 10 goals for one team in Champions League history, having reached double figures for Dortmund in just his seventh appearance.

Heavily linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus, Terzic heaped praise on the 20-year-old forward.

“As a coach you always try to tell him [Erling Haaland] something before the game,” Terzic told reporters.

“You think about how you bring your strengths onto the pitch. Today we left him with fewer defensive duties and tried to let him stay in the centre of the pitch. We knew that Sevilla would take risks and try and bring the ball out via their central defenders. And then there would be a one-on-one possible with their rest of the defence.

“We wanted to have Erling in a good position when there was a counterattack on for us. It worked very well and he got the reward of the two goals. But we are more proud of what he did for the team, how he fought, how he kept the ball.

“It’s outstanding that he scored the two goals. The way he was playing for the team today was exactly what we needed. But everybody deserves the same words.

“It was a good team performance and Erling contributed to that.”

pic.twitter.com/5SZIr7nnwh

— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) February 18, 2021

For a third successive European game, Haaland managed to score a brace – he had also found the net twice in back-to-back fixtures against Club Brugge in the group stage. Only four other players have achieved the feat, with the in-demand forward joining illustrious company. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has managed it no fewer than three times, along with former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich’s Giovane Elber and two-time Champions League winner Filippo Inzaghi.

Haaland now has 18 goals in 13 appearances in the competition – a tally that only Lewandowski can match since the start of the 2019-20 season.

To put his scoring exploits in perspective, Ronaldo failed to find the net in his first 13 Champions League games, while Lionel Messi managed three goals across the same number.