'Incredible!' - Favre stunned by Haaland hat-trick on Dortmund debut
The Swiss manager would've struggled to imagine his new star signing making a better start to life in the Bundesliga
Posted Sunday, January 19, 2020 by Goal.com
Lucien Favre called Erling Haaland "incredible" after the striker came off the bench to score a hat-trick against Augsburg on his Borussia Dortmund debut.
Inspired by Haaland, Dortmund rallied from 3-1 down to record a 5-3 away win on Saturday that will live long in the memory.
The Norway international came on for Lukasz Piszczek after 56 minutes and netted with his first touch 183 seconds later with a low shot into the far corner.
Haaland doubled his tally with a tap-in and got his third with a cool finish, with Dortmund's creative trio Jadon Sancho, Thorgan Hazard and Marco Reus all getting an assist apiece.
The 19-year-old joined BVB for a reported €20 million from Salzburg amid competition from Manchester United and a host Europe's top clubs.
Favre knew he had a top prospect on his hands, but could not believe Haaland's exploits, especially given the youngster had limited training time due to a knee injury ahead of his substitute appearance.
"He has started very well," Dortmund head coach Favre told Sky . "He immediately showed his strengths with his runs in behind, and of course he scored three goals which is incredible.
"He moves well between the lines, which gives us another way of attacking. He was very good and did very well.
"At 19 years old, he has a huge potential for improvement, that's the most important thing. It was a crazy game."
Dortmund play Cologne on Friday and Favre was asked whether Haaland would land a place in the starting line-up.
He added: "The players always say they are ready to play, but he didn't train at all in December because he had a knee injury and couldn't do much in our training camp for three or four days.
"He was not yet ready to play 90 minutes [against Augsburg]. We will see about Friday."
Haaland himself wasn't getting carried away by his early heroics for Dortmund, stressing he came to the club to score goals.
"I am pretty relaxed about it, I don't really know why," Haaland said post-match.
"I'm at a fantastic club with great team-mates and good people around me. I came here to score goals and it was a good debut for me."
Photos
More»
Ex-Barcelona WAG strips completely naked
Thursday April 18 2024
[PICTURE SPECIAL] Real Madrid end City's UCL dream
Thursday April 18 2024
Glam British athlete Lauryn Davey shows off bum
Wednesday April 17 2024
Your Say