How clinical Erling Haaland fired Salzburg into an exclusive club of Liverpool foes

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Erling Braut Haaland continued the remarkable start to his Uefa Champions League career with another goal during RB Salzburg’s thrilling 4-3 defeat to Liverpool.
After scoring a hat-trick in Salzburg’s 6-2 thrashing of Genk on matchday one, the teenager came off the bench on Wednesday to score the equaliser as Jesse Marsch’s side fought back from 3-0 down to level at 3-3.
In doing so, Haaland ensured that he had found the net with each of his first four shots on target in the Champions League – a record which still stands now given that the Norwegian didn’t manage another shot on goal after that.
Erling Braut Håland’s first four shots in his #UCL career:
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⚽️Unbelievable scenes at Anfield. pic.twitter.com/CR7hovrvRB
— Squawka (@Squawka) October 2, 2019
Liverpool regained their lead just nine minutes later thanks to a Mohamed Salah strike, assisted by none other than Roberto Firmino – the Brazilian has now been directly involved in 24 Champions League goals since joining Liverpool (14 goals, 10 assists), more than any other player at the club.
Even so, Liverpool forward Sadio Mane – who opened the scoring on the night – is well aware of the qualities possessed by Salzburg, having spent two-and-a-half years there before joining Southampton in 2014.
“Salzburg are a really good team and after we went 3-0 up it was a tough game to try and push – but we deserved the win,” he said after the match.
“To be honest, I knew how good Salzburg were as I was there for two and a half years. They never give up and push and they caused us problems, but finally, we scored more goals.”
Salzburg’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, with many tipping them be this year’s Ajax, going against the odds and upsetting the established European elite.
In fact, the Austrians are the first side to score three
Incidentally, that clash with Los Blancos was the last time the Reds lost a Champions League game at Anfield – a run spanning 23 games to date – while Jurgen Klopp has become just the second Liverpool manager to go 20+ games unbeaten at home in European competition. Only the legendary Bob Paisley’s record of 29 matches now stands in the German’s way.
Liverpool’s win leaves them second in Group E after two games, trailing leaders Napoli by a single point, while Salzburg only sit behind Klopp’s side as a result of their head-to-head record.
The Reds’ next European outing is away to Genk, while Salzburg host Napoli on matchday three.
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