Erling Haaland said Kylian Mbappé’s hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday against Barcelona gave the Borussia Dortmund forward “motivation” in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Sevilla FC.
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The 20-year-old forward from Norway has scored twice in Seville, only following Mbappé as the player with the most Champions League goals before his 21st birthday, with 18 goals in 13 games. Mbappé, 22, scored 19 goals before turning 21.
Mbappé plunged against Barcelona in Tuesday’s 4-1 win with his three-goal performance, which Haaland pointed out as a source of motivation.
“When I saw Mbappé score the hat-trick, I got motivation for free, so thanks to him,” Haaland said after the game. “He scored some nice goals and I got a free boost from him, so it was fun.”
Sevilla took an early lead thanks to Suso, but Mahmoud Dahoud equalized in the 19th minute. Haaland put Dortmund ahead in the 27th from inside the area after a nice give-and-go exchange of passes with Jadon Sancho, before taking the lead from close range in the 43rd after a quick breakaway. Luuk de Jong made a late goal for Sevilla.
“We had a good plan,” said Haaland. ‘[Borussia manager] Edin [Terzic] has been good and I talked to him a lot. He said today would be my game and I would get my chances and I did, so it was an important win.
“It wasn’t good to let in two goals, but it’s good to score three away goals and take them.”
Just like Mbappé, Haaland has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, among others. When asked for his opinion of the Spanish club, Haaland objected by saying “it’s nice to be wanted.”
On the rumors of a possible exit from PSG, Mbappé said after the Barcelona game: “I have always said that I am happy here. This kind of game makes me even happier. The PSG shirt is one that I hold dear.”