RED BULL SALZBURG forward Erling Braut Haaland matched Wayne Rooney on Tuesday with a spectacular first-half hat-trick on his Champions League debut.
The 19-year-old Norwegian fired three of Salzburg’s five goals in the first half of their group stage opener against Belgian champions Genk, before his team eventually won 6-2.
His first came just two minutes into the match, giving the Austrian side the early advantage at home.
Haaland added another in the 34th minute before Hwang Hee-chan added Salzburg’s third just two minutes later.
The hat-trick was then completed in the 45th minute, with Dominik Sazoboszlai adding another in stoppage time of the opening half.
With the hat-trick, Haaland is the first teenager to score more than once on his Champions League debut since Wayne Rooney netted a hat-trick for Manchester United in a 6-2 triumph over Fenerbahce all the way back in September 2004.
Haaland, at 19 years and 58 days, is additionally the third-youngest player to score a Champions League hat-trick, behind only Real Madrid legend Raul (18y 113d in 1995) and Rooney (18y 340d in 2004).
The only other teenager to net a Champions League hat-trick is Yakubu, who scored a hat-trick for Maccabi Haifa in a win over Olympiacos in 2002.
However, Haaland is the first teenager to score a first-half hat-trick on his debut, as he also became the eighth player ever to score three in his first Champions League match.
The goals were only the latest in the 19-year-old’s breakout campaign, having already lit up his domestic league during Salzburg’s perfect start to the season.
Salzburg have won each of their first seven league matches, with Haaland scoring 11 goals.
In addition, the forward netted a hat-trick in a 7-1 victory over SC-ESV Parndorf 1919 in the Austrian Cup.
Haaland, who played under current Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde, made headlines over the summer when he scored nine goals in Norway’s 12–0 win against Honduras at the U20 World Cup. He has since earned two caps for the senior team.
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