Why do you I stopped Erling Haaland from scoring double hat-trick against RB Leipzig - Guardiola

Pep Guardiola jokingly said that he stopped Erling Haaland from scoring against RB Leipzig just one goal shy of a double hat-trick.

Manchester City defeated RB Leipzig 7-0 on Tuesday night to ensure their passage into the quarterfinal round.

But City will have to wait until Friday this week to know who they will be facing in the draw.

The Norwegian forward broke records with a ruthless performance, scoring five goals in 35 minutes to become the youngest and quickest player to reach 30 goals in the Champions League. He also joined Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano as the only players to have scored five goals in a single Champions League game.

After scoring twice in the span of two minutes midway through the first half—the first a contentious penalty—Haaland completed his hat-trick in first-half stoppage time. He then added two more goals in the 53rd and 57th minutes, with Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne scoring the other two goals as City won 8-1 overall.

Yet shortly after the hour, Haaland was replaced by Julian Alvarez, who later said: 'I told him [Guardiola] when I went off, I'd love to score a double hat-trick - but what can I do!'

Asked why he made the switch, Guardiola said: 'If he achieved this milestone at 22, 23 years old, it will be boring, his life. Now he has a target, that's why I make the substitution.

'I didn't know this about Messi against (Bayer) Leverkusen but normally when the game is over I want to let all the players play as much as possible.'