In the Zone: Haaland hits top gear

Things can change quickly in the FedEx Performance Zone and there can be no better example than Erling Haaland, who went into the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second legs in 40th place in the standings... and ended it second.

In our latest stats dive, we take a look at his point-building masterclass in Manchester City's 7-0 victory against Leipzig.

The relentless Norwegian more than doubled his points tally for the season in a single devastating evening with a one-man demolition of a Leipzig side that had more than held their own during the 1-1 draw in Germany in the first leg of their last-16 tie. It's worth a reminder that points are multiplied by 1.5 in each game at the round of 16 stage, bumping up Haaland's 117-point haul into his eye-watering 175.5 total on Tuesday night.

Only Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano had scored five goals in a Champions League game before the 22-year-old joined the exclusive club in just 36 glorious minutes against Leipzig. His five goals earned him 112.5 points in the FedEx Performance Zone and eight shots on target contributed 60 points, with the only other positives in his column courtesy of playing more than 60 minutes (7.5 points).

The only disappointments of a landmark evening were the spurning of one big chance (minus three points) and being caught offside once (minus 1.5 points) – both unlikely to have put a dampener on his celebrations.

A word should go to Haaland's supporting cast though. Kevin De Bruyne rose a remarkable 194 places in the rankings, in no small part due to a goal from outside the box (27 points) and an assist (13.5 points), while defender Manuel Akanji climbed 145 places after a notable two assists (27 points) and a clean sheet (13.5 points).

Next up for Pep Guardiola's side in the Champions League are another German outfit, Bayern, who will have to find a way to stop Haaland and Co. from overwhelming them in the same manner Leipzig were.