Haaland hits five with four De Bruyne assists as City march on in FA Cup

And it was team-mate Kevin De Bruyne that assisted each of his first four goals as City made light work of a tricky tie at Kenilworth Road.

Haaland took his tally to 27 goals for the season with his first hat-trick away from the Etihad Stadium as he equalled the Club record for most FA Cup goals in a single game. 

The night was wrapped up by Mateo Kovacic when he added a sumptuous sixth in front of the jubilant away supporters to round off the win in style.

What happened

City returned to Kenilworth Road for the second time this season but for the first occasion in the FA Cup since the infamous clash in 1961 when Denis Law scored seven and ended up losing.

The abandoned game also finished 6-2 and Haaland quickly set about chasing Law’s feat, with no sign of the game being halted this time thankfully.

It took just three minutes for the Norwegian to fire City ahead. Matheus Nunes worked some space down the left flank before freeing De Bruyne, who pulled the ball back for Haaland to tuck home.

The Hatters tried to respond but Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji stood strong to dangerous crosses into the box while City looked threatening with every attack.

And it was De Bruyne and Haaland that combined again to double our advantage. It began with a long ball from Stefan Ortega Moreno held up by the City striker before he exchanged passes with De Bruyne and fired through Tim Krul’s legs.

He almost had his hat-trick before the half-hour mark but was denied by Krul. First John Stones stepped into midfield before releasing the City striker who brought a smart save from the Luton keeper.

Then Jack Grealish’s delightful pass picked out De Bruyne whose volley was well saved by Krul but he was fortunate that Haaland smashed the follow-up into his midriff with him still sitting on his backside.

Grealish was back in the side for the first time since the Champions League win at FC Copenhagen but his return was cut short and he was consoled by the City bench when he was forced off in the 39th minute.

While it was a sad moment, it didn’t disrupt City’s menace. Haaland completed his first half hat-trick, De Bruyne again supplying the perfect pass for the striker who stayed onside before lifting the ball over Krul.

FA CUP SIXTH ROUND DRAW DETAILS

Kenilworth Road echoed to the sound of the huge following behind Ortega Moreno’s goal but the home fans finally had something to cheer about when Jordan Clark hit a superb 20-yard strike into the top corner on the stroke of half-time.

And the Hatters were sensing a remarkable comeback when Clark volleyed in a second shortly after the restart.

That clicked De Bruyne and Haaland back into action with the Belgian sprinting onto Kyle Walker’s incisive pass before squaring for a simple finish.

And moments later he had his fifth, with a fierce strike that squeezed through Krul’s legs, Bernardo Silva the provider on that occasion.

Nunes and De Bruyne both went close before Kovacic added a sixth with a swerving strike from 20 yards.

The home side must have been relieved to see the sight of a quadruple change but City continued to attack and Krul reacted quickly to parry away Julian Alvarez from scoring a seventh.

TEAMS

LUTON XI: Krul, Ogbene (Hashioka 62), Burke, Mengi, Bell (Johnson 39), Doughty, Barkley, Clark (Mpanzu 62), Chong, Woodrow (Townsend 56), Morris

Subs: Shea, Osho, Berry, Nelson, Piesold

CITY XI: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Stones (Bobb 77), Akanji, Ake (Gomez 77), Kovacic, Nunes, De Bruyne, Bernardo (Lewis 77), Grealish (Doku 39), Haaland (Alvarez 77)

Subs: Ederson, Dias, Rodrigo, Foden

Man of the match

Haaland equalled the record for most goals in an FA Cup game by a City player with another astonishing performance. 

He was simply too strong and too clever for the Luton defence to cope with and once again showed his deadly accuracy in front of goal.

The City striker’s movement caused the home side constant problems and his second and third goals displayed his coolness in one-on-one situations.

His first and fourth showed his alertness around the box and ability to find space while his fifth was a powerful strike.

Haaland’s hold-up play also allowed Ortega Moreno and the defence to go long when required while he almost returned the favour with an assist for De Bruyne but for a smart save from Krul.

Dynamic duo

To have arguably the greatest assister in Premier League history and last season’s record goalscorer in the same team can be joyous to watch.

That De Bruyne and Haaland are on the same wavelength with the former’s vision and latter’s movement makes a deadly combination.

The pair have now combined 16 times as supplier and finisher with four in the FA Cup win at Kenilworth Road.  

It takes De Bruyne to an incredible 12 assists despite missing six months of the season through injury.

HAALAND REACTION

“I think we made a plan and everyone stuck to it perfectly. We did well and kept the ball. That’s what we need to do against these teams. So well played by everyone.

“My fitness is getting there and I’m getting back to my best finally. I’m feeling good and it’s an amazing feeling.

“It’s coming. We’re coming. Exciting times ahead. We are ready to attack.”

PEP GUARDIOLA REACTION

“What can I say? Really, really good. Erling is on fire and Kevin - the connection was perfect. It was a really good game and we are in the quarter-finals.

“Kevin needs players like Erling and Erling needs players like Kevin. We are not here without the other guys. A lot of credit for everyone.

“We won our last two games 1-0 and against Chelsea we played good in the second half but couldn’t win. [It’s] one game at a time. The FA Cup is a really nice competition. We are one game away to go to Wembley again.”

WHAT IT MEANS

City go into the hat for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with the draw at 19:00 (UK) on Wednesday, 28 February.

Ties will be played on the weekend of March 16 meaning our Premier League clash with Brighton will be rearranged.

What’s next

With the game at Luton our last of February, a big month begins on Sunday 3 March with the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.

Erik Ten Hag will make his second visit as the Manchester United manager for the 15:30 (UK) kick-off.

That is followed by another home game on Wednesday when we play FC Copenhagen in the Champions League last-16 second leg with a 20:00 (UK) kick-off.