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Haaland likened to ex-Dortmund strikers

Teenager in the mould of Lewandowski but has started off like Auba, says Reus

A day before Borussia Dortmund played Augsburg, captain Marco Reus said that new signing Erling Haaland is in the mould of their former striker Robert Lewandowski.

Reus described Haaland as a No. 9 with the strength, size and stature that will allow Dortmund to play in a style that they haven't been able to do since Lewandowski left the club.

After leading Dortmund to a 5-3 comeback victory over Augsburg with a hat-trick on his debut last Saturday, Haaland has been compared to another ex-Dortmund striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

High praise indeed for the teenager, who joined only two weeks ago from Red Bull Salzburg for a reported 20 million euros (S$30m), and scored his treble within 23 minutes of making his bow for Dortmund, as the Bundesliga resumed after the winter break.

"He is very calm, but very ambitious. Erling trains incredibly hard," Reus told Sky Germany.

"The last guy to make his debut in Augsburg was Auba, and he scored three goals too. If it becomes the same kind of success story, I'd be all for that.

"Erling is making a good impression and he got off to a superb start today."

Augsburg had led 2-0 and 3-1 through a brace from Florian Niederlechner and a goal from Marco Richter, after Dortmund had squandered plenty of scoring chances in the first half.

Julian Brandt had briefly cut the deficit for Dortmund.

Haaland then scored his first goal with a low drive in the 59th minute, three minutes after coming on to close the gap to 3-2.

Jadon Sancho drew the hosts level in the 61st minute and Haaland then tapped in Dortmund's fourth nine minutes later to put them ahead.

The 19-year-old Norwegian sealed their win to live up to heightened expectations and completed his memorable hat-trick in the 79th minute to put fourth-placed Dortmund on 33 points.

"It was a good day and I am happy," Haaland said.

"I'm at a fantastic club with great teammates and good people around me. I came here to score goals and it was a good debut for me."

The powerful forward had shot to fame earlier this season when he scored 22 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions, including eight in the Champions League group stages before his move to Germany.

"Erling has settled in well and immediately showed his strengths by making runs in behind," said Dortmund coach Lucien Favre.

"He moves very well between the lines and offers us other possibilities in our attacking play."

ANOTHER DEBUTANT

Also making a good impression was another debutant Gio Reyna, who became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga.

Aged 17 years, two months and five days, Reyna, son of former United States internationals Claudio Reyna and Danielle Reyna, came on in the 72nd minute at Augsburg and Favre was pleased with his display.

Reyna replaced Christian Pulisic as the youngest American to have played in the league.

Pulisic was 17 years, four months and 12 days old when he made his league debut for Dortmund on Jan 30, 2016.

"It was very good that he played here. At 17, it was good," Favre said.

In a later game, RB Leipzig also had to come from behind to overcome Union Berlin 3-1, with Timo Werner grabbing a brace to top the scoring charts with 20 league goals.

Leipzig continue to lead the Bundesliga on 40 points.

- REUTERS

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