Erling Haaland has hailed his understanding with Borussia Dortmund teammate Marco Reus, whilst revealing his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo.

bundesliga.com caught up with the goal-scoring phenom, who has hit a German top-flight record 25 goals in as many games since moving to Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg a year ago...

bundesliga.com: You have now been in Dortmund for a year? How has this year been for you? How have you developed?

Erling Haaland: "Yeah, it all went so fast, you know, since I signed. We went into lockdown, we started training and playing without fans and for me it has been going so fast, but also so slow, two times. It’s difficult to explain but it has been going very fast again. And also we had no idea this would happen, but I was lucky I could play in front of the Yellow Wall and in front of our fans, and I hope that soon we can play in front of them again."

Watch: Erling Haaland's first 25 Bundesliga goals

bundesliga.com: How is the new coach Edin Terzic?

Haaland: "Edin and I have a good relationship ever since I came here and we’ve been talking a lot about different things, he’s been crossing a lot of crosses for me to head into the back of the net and, yeah, we have a good relationship and I’m looking forward to build on that, to get even better and to perform for him."

bundesliga.com: Dortmund have been playing a 4-2-3-1 formation under Terzic, with Marco Reus behind you in the number 10 role - how has the partnership with him been working out?

Haaland: "Yeah, of course, he is a big legend here and we need him at his best. He has a vision that no one else has, you saw that goal for [Jadon] Sancho against Leipzig and the ball to me, it’s amazing. I need these balls, so he has to give me more."

Marco Reus and Haaland (l-r.) have really hit it off in front of goal for BVB. - imago images

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bundesliga.com: On your debut against Augsburg, you single-handedly decided the match with a hat-trick. Describe this moment?

Haaland: "So the first goal, a good ball from Sancho, I knew he was a good player and I knew he could play me through and I just did the run, and then Toto, he played me through in front of goal and it was a nice gift from [Thorgan] Hazard and the third goal, an amazing ball from Marco Reus and, yeah, to get a hat-trick on a debut is very nice, it’s always nice to score a hat-trick and on a debut it’s maybe even better."

bundesliga.com: You’ve already set a number of records. Are certain records and achievements important for you?

Haaland: "Yeah, to be honest, that’s not my main focus, my main focus is to try win something as a team, that’s what I want to do in my career, I want to win trophies and titles, so it’s not my focus to win different individual things, but when they first come it’s a nice thing, you know. As you said, there are some records and the golden boy and I appreciate it a lot. I appreciate it when people appreciate the work I’m doing and the things I’m doing. It also gives me motivation to take the next step, when you get something like that."

bundesliga.com: How do you like the Bundesliga so far?

Haaland: "Yeah, I like it. There are a lot of good teams, tough teams and a lot of nice stadiums around the country. As you know, I’m enjoying it and it’s a nice league."

bundesliga.com: In terms of nutrition, is Cristiano Ronaldo a role model for you?

Haaland: "Yeah, I’ve read something here and there, but I don’t know if it ’s true, but I have my own plan and follow my own things with the people around me. So it’s not something I do exactly the same as him because I don’t know how he does it. He is a big inspiration for all of us and, yeah, look at him, the man is a machine."

Haaland is outscoring Ronaldo at 20, though the Juventus star is still going strong into his 30s. - imago images

bundesliga.com: You moved to Molde FK aged 16 and developed into a good player there. Do you have any anecdotes you can tell us about those early days?

Haaland: "I have a lot of friends from Molde now, that I still speak with and I will probably be in contact with for the rest of my life. I have a lot of good memories, both on and off the pitch. We were some young guys, we were on the same national team together, like under 18 or something, and we also played in Molde together, so we were always travelling together, joking around at home in Molde and with the national team. I remember, I lived in an apartment and a good friend of mind Eman, he lived right under me and sometimes I’d joke with him like ringing his bell late at night and I remember one time I was just inviting people in, random people, and then I just left, this was really funny. I have a lot of good memories with these guys and I appreciate the time there."

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