Five-star Erling Haaland demolishes Luton as Manchester City win 6-2

Erling Haaland celebrates scoring his and City’s fifth goal in their demolition of Luton. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

It was a game when it felt appropriate to have all-time records in mind from an early juncture, an awareness of history. Because Erling Haaland was in that kind of mood. Luton, meanwhile, appeared intent on seeing whether their defenders could hold him off in one-on-one last-man battles. They could not.

A couple of minutes before the hour, Haaland had scored his fifth to ease City clear of a Luton mini-revival that felt like a mirage. The double hat-trick was on, which is a thing in park football at under-10 level but really should not be in the FA Cup fifth round.

The last player to score six in this competition for a top-flight club was George Best in Manchester United’s 8-2 win over Northampton in 1970 and Pep Guardiola left Haaland on for another 19 minutes to see whether he could emulate the great man.

Putting Haaland straight into cold storage before Sunday’s Premier League derby with United was not a part of Guardiola’s thinking. Haaland, though, would call it a day at five. It was another performance of breathtaking power and pace, plus the kind of ruthlessness we have come to associate with him.

Kevin De Bruyne teed him up for the first four while Mateo Kovacic slammed home the sixth as City eased into the quarter-finals. Luton were game, Jordan Clark scoring their goals – the first a belter from distance – but the night was all about one man.

Haaland scored five against RB Leipzig in last season’s Champions League and such is his thirst to plunder that he looked a little nonplussed to see his number go up. There was applause for him from some Luton fans as he walked off. They were happy to see the back of him.

City pitch up at every stadium with their chests pushed out, shows of strength everything. Here at the outset it was Guardiola’s decision to start Rúben Dias, Rodri and Phil Foden among the substitutes, although it helps when you can recall Kyle Walker, De Bruyne and Jack Grealish. The disappointment was that Grealish only lasted 38 minutes before feeling more muscular pain.

City were straight into their groove, De Bruyne prominent as they scored early. There was an audible intake of breath when the City midfielder surged on to a Matheus Nunes pass up the inside left and Clark slipped. De Bruyne had Haaland in the middle. The pull-back was true. Haaland had gone and then melted back into space. He banged home.

Luton tried to be positive. Rob Edwards gave Tahith Chong and Ross Barkley plenty of licence in central midfield. The home team carried the physical fight and Teden Mengi certainly did at the start. Yet in doing so, he only seemed to stir the beast in Haaland. Not that it needs much stirring. Haaland had already roughed up Mengi once when he backed into him hard, pinning him before laying off to De Bruyne and spinning off for the return ball which, predictably, was made to measure.

Mengi raced back but Haaland never offered the slightest impression that he would allow a challenge to be even contemplated. The shot was clinical.

At that point, it felt like a question of how many for Haaland, let alone City. Luton’s backline was daringly high; crazily so, too. How were they happy to go one-on-one with Haaland?

City’s main man was denied twice by Tim Krul, the first after a John Stones through-ball; the second after De Bruyne had been thwarted by Luton’s goalkeeper. Haaland was having fun and it was fun to watch him. Unless you were wearing an orange shirt. Then it was terrifying.

The hat-trick arrived moments after the 18-year-old defender, Joe Johnson, had come on for the injured Amari’i Bell. It was Johnson who was left with the task of trying to stop him as he blasted on to another De Bruyne pass and it was not a fair fight. Haaland slowed at the very last to produce the featherlight dinked finish.

The only surprise was the Luton goal before half-time and what a goal it was, Clark taking a pass back from Barkley, dropping his shoulder to buy himself the space against Bernardo Silva and shaping a beautiful curler into the top corner from outside the box.

Could Luton build on the lifeline? It did not feel likely and not when Stones glided through midfield after the second-half restart to feed Nunes, who was kept out by Krul. And yet the home fans were rubbing their eyes and dreaming shortly afterwards when Clark scored again. What was going on?!

Stefan Ortega’s clearance was poor, straight to Barkley and, seconds later, he was shaping a lovely chip over the City backline for Clark, who took a touch and smashed home.

City did not blink. Why should they when they have Haaland? It was the old one-two for the fourth time when De Bruyne ran on to an outside-of-the-boot Walker pass to cross, Haaland doing the rest.

And Luton did not need Krul to make a handling error on a Haaland shot for No 5.