October 1, Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany.
In the second round of the Champions League group stage, Leeds United faced Borussia Dortmund away from home.
In the 73rd minute, Haaland replaced Vardy. Just eight minutes later, Leeds United, who had been dominating possession but unable to break through, were circulating the ball near the 30-meter zone.
Haaland dropped back to the right side to receive the ball, used his body to overpower Witsel, controlled it, turned, and dribbled past the Belgian defensive midfielder before making a diagonal run toward the edge of the penalty area.
Vinicius Jr. and Ansu Fati, who had come on for Sancho, widened the defensive line ahead of Haaland, exposing gaps in Dortmund's defense.
As soon as Haaland reached the edge of the penalty area, before Akanji could close in, he flicked the ball to the side with his left foot, adjusted his body, charged forward, and unleashed a powerful shot with his left foot.
He put all his strength into the strike, his body lifting off the ground as the ball rocketed toward the left side of the goal like a missile.
Goalkeeper Bürki dove, but it was too late. The ball slammed into the left side of the net.
"Goallllllllllllllllllllll!"
"Haaland!"
"At the crucial moment, Haaland unleashed a thunderous shot from the edge of the box, scoring a world-class goal!"
"1-0!"
"Leeds United have scored a vital away goal!"
...
October 22, Karaiskakis Stadium, Athens, Greece.
In the third round of the Champions League group stage, Leeds United were away against Olympiacos.
"It's Leeds United attacking down the left wing. Alphonso Davies pushes up and gets the ball out wide."
"The ball is crossed into the box, Grealish passes again."
"Haaland is tightly marked, no room to shoot. He shields the ball with his back to goal and lays it off to the top of the box."
"Bruno Fernandes..."
Goal!!!
Leeds United equalize! It's 1-1!
"An assist from Haaland, and Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes strikes it cleanly to equalize for Leeds United!"
...
"It's Leeds United attacking again."
"Look at this, Sancho drops deep and passes it backward."
"Valverde makes a good forward run, catches up to it, and plays a diagonal pass into the box."
"Haaland bursts past the defender and shoots..."
"Goalllllllllllllllll!!!"
"Haaland!!"
"2-1!"
"Leeds United have come from behind to defeat Olympiacos!"
"Haaland scores his sixth goal of the Champions League season!"
"And he also has a goal and an assist tonight!"
"We can see how dominant this Leeds United center forward is. Olympiacos center-back Melia was knocked aside completely, leaving a hole in their penalty area defense!"
"That's what a true center does!"
"Haaland has that kind of dominance inside the box!"
"Six goals in three group-stage matches, and at just 19 years old, he's unstoppable this season!"
"Leeds United's right-side attack was also brilliant just now. Valverde's forward movement was very threatening."
...
"A corner kick for Leeds United."
"Bruno Fernandes to take it, sends it into the middle."
"The header is cleared."
"But the ball drops to Leeds United again!"
"Grealish controls it, still a chance, he chips it over the top..."
"Haaland!!!"
"Goal!!!"
"It's Haaland again!!!"
"3-1!!"
"The seventh Champions League goal of the season from 19-year-old Erling Haaland!"
"Leeds United executed that corner brilliantly. Grealish won the second ball and chipped it behind the defense, and Haaland, after timing his run perfectly to beat the offside trap, sent the ball in with a clever finish!"
"That's the instinct of a true striker!"
"They'll use every possible way to put the ball into the net the moment a chance appears!"
"Without a doubt, Haaland has that killer instinct!"
"This 19-year-old already has seven Champions League goals and is leading the top scorer list!"
"And it's worth noting that Kylian Mbappé, now playing for Real Madrid, is in second place."
"The French winger is also one of the most dangerous attacking players in Europe this season. Last season, the two were teammates at Leeds United, combining for numerous goals. Now they represent Real Madrid and Leeds United, fighting for glory on different stages."
...
November 6, Leeds United Amazon Stadium.
In the fourth round of the Champions League group stage, Leeds United hosted Olympiacos. Having won three straight, Leeds United needed just one more victory to secure qualification for the knockout stage.
For them, this match could have been more relaxed. In the 28th minute, Alphonso Davies and Vinicius Jr. failed to break through on the left and passed the ball back. However, the defensive line only had Ruben Dias and Saliba in place.
Even Declan Rice had pushed forward. Ruben Dias switched play to the right, finding Reece James, who passed to Sancho.
Sancho spotted a gap and played a diagonal cross into the penalty area.
Haaland leaped into the air amid defenders. The tall Norwegian towered above everyone and met Sancho's cross with a powerful header, sending it into Olympiacos' goal.
1-0! The entire Amazon Stadium erupted in cheers.
His 8th goal in the Champions League!
Throughout the first half, Leeds United attacked relentlessly, not giving the Greek side a single shot.
Their aggressive play thrilled the fans, but the tight defense kept them from adding to the lead.
In the second half, Leeds United broke through again on the left with Alphonso Davies and Vinicius Jr. combining.
Vinicius stopped at the edge of the box and slipped the ball down the line. Davies surged forward and crossed it left-footed toward Haaland in front of goal.
Haaland's shot was blocked by the keeper, but Sancho followed up at the far post and easily tapped it in, making it 2-0!
Thirteen minutes later, Leeds United won a corner. Bruno Fernandes delivered it, and Ruben Dias headed home to make it 3-0!
Leeds United sealed a dominant home victory over Olympiacos, earning their fourth straight Champions League group-stage win and securing early qualification.
Haaland had now scored eight Champions League goals, leading the top scorer list.
...
In the fifth round, Leeds United faced Genk in Belgium.
From the start, they pressed aggressively. The midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Calvin Phillips, and Jon Amélie suffocated Genk's build-up and dominated possession.
In the 6th minute, Bruno Fernandes intercepted the ball near the halfway line, spotted space, and sent a perfect through pass behind the defense.
Haaland burst past two defenders, latched onto the pass, and from the right side of the box, held off his marker before firing with his weaker right foot into the Genk net.
1-0!
Soon after, Leeds United earned a corner. Achraf Hakimi crossed, and Jon Amélie rose to head it in for 2-0!
In the 26th minute, Leeds United intercepted again. Calvin Phillips won the ball, passed to Bruno Fernandes, who immediately threaded another through ball.
Haaland received it behind the defender, turned, flicked it backward, then accelerated, shaking off the Genk defender completely.
He dribbled past the pulling and shoving, charged into the box, and calmly finished one-on-one to make it 3-0!
That was Haaland's 10th goal of the Champions League season!
As the referee blew the whistle to confirm the goal, a new Champions League group-stage record was equaled.
Haaland's 10th goal tied Messi's record, making him joint second in all-time group-stage goals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
At his peak, Ronaldo scored 11 in a single group stage. With one more game to go, Haaland was closing in fast.
Even the commentators believed Haaland could equal or even surpass his idol's record that very night in Belgium.
"Leeds United are in fantastic form tonight, and Haaland looks hungry for goals."
But the world had underestimated him again.
In first-half stoppage time, when everyone thought the half was ending, Jon Amélie launched a long pass over the top.
Genk's defenders tracked Haaland closely, which allowed Sancho to make a diagonal run from the right to the edge of the box.
Sancho controlled Jon Amélie's pass on his chest, then cleverly laid it off first-time to Haaland, who was sprinting forward.
Haaland shoved aside the defender beside him and struck powerfully with his left foot just as the ball arrived.
The ball skimmed past the left post and nestled into the bottom corner.
4-0!
Haaland rushed over in celebration, scooping Sancho up in his arms as teammates surrounded them.
The 11th goal!
It was a crazy goal-scoring night!
Haaland had now equaled his idol Cristiano Ronaldo's record for the most goals in a single Champions League group stage.
Even more astonishing, he was only 19 years old.
Haaland was on fire, and so were Leeds United.
(To be continued.)