premier league
Haaland scores three times for City – Arsenal beat Man United
Erling Haaland shot Manchester City to victory. photo
© Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa
It just works at Erling Haaland. The City striker’s goal record is very impressive.
Thanks to the outstanding Erling Haaland, English football champions Manchester City have clinched their next clear victory in the Premier League. In the Cityzens’ 3-0 (1-0) win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Haaland scored their fourth hat-trick of the season.
The former Dortmund striker is on course for a record in the Premier League. But leaders FC Arsenal also prevailed in the top game against Manchester United.
After Man City struggled for a long time in the first half, Haaland scored the goal for the hosts in the 40th minute. City ruled the game after the break. After a foul on Ilkay Gündogan in the penalty area, Haaland converted the penalty kick due again in the 50th minute. A few minutes later, the Norwegian made everything clear for the defending champion with his third goal (54th). After just over an hour, he was substituted to thunderous applause at the Etihad Stadium.
Outstanding goal rate
The previous record of the ex-Dortmunder in England is breathtaking. Haaland has featured in 19 of 20 league games for Man City this season, scoring 25 goals. Last season, the Premier League’s two top scorers, Mohamed Salah and Heung-min Son, each scored 23 goals in 38 games. Also, no player has managed to hit four hat-tricks in such a short amount of time before. Only Alan Shearer has scored three goals in one game more often – five times – in a single season.
The Cityzens put pressure on leaders Arsenal with their comfortable win. But the Gunners won 3-2 (1-1) against Man United on Sunday evening. Bukayo Saka (53′) and Eddie Nketiah (24’/90′) scored in the high-quality game for the leaders. The guests initially took the lead through Marcus Rashford (17′), and Lisandro Martínez (59′) also scored. Man United are fourth in the table, tied on points with third Newcastle United.