Unleashed Haaland keeps Manchester City on title course with four goals

Erling Braut Haaland single-handedly blew Wolverhampton Wanderers to pieces on Saturday evening. The Norwegian top striker of Manchester City was accurate four times in the 5-1 home game. Haaland is doing well in the top scorer rankings and now has 25 goals. Close attacker Cole Palmer has scored 20 so far.

Haaland was not the only returning starter at City. Phil Foden also started the kick-off, as did Nathan Aké and Ederson. The latter was injured against Nottingham Forest, but was fit enough to start again from the first minute.

City saw Arsenal beat Bournemouth (3-0) earlier in the afternoon and therefore had to win to keep things in their own hands. After just ten minutes of play, Wolverhampton’s resistance was broken, when Josko Gvardiol was knocked down by Rayan Ait-Nouri and Haaland scored his first from the spot.

After Foden curled a free kick narrowly wide, Haaland increased the margin to three in the first half. After more than half an hour of play he scored a hard headbutt on a pass from Rodri for the 2-0.

The third City goal followed just before half time. This time the Norwegian himself was deposited in the enemy sixteen. Once again he took his place behind the ball and again Jose Sa had no chance: 3-0. It was Haaland’s 35th goal in all competitions this season.

Although the first danger of the second half came from Foden, it was Wolverhampton who, out of nowhere, brought the tension back into the match. After Ederson’s miss, Hee-chan Hwang was in the right place to score the 3-1.

It was possible for a very long time Wolves not enjoying the moment, as barely a minute later Haaland struck for the fourth time. After preparatory work by Foden, the striker beautifully found the far corner.

The Norwegian had two more chances in the remainder of the match, but was unable to capitalize on them. Pep Guardiola then took him off ten minutes before the end. His replacement, Julián Álvarez, signed for the final score: 5-1.

City now has 82 points from 35 games, one point less than Arsenal. However, Guardiola’s team played one match less. The Citizens still play against Fulham (away), Tottenham Hotspur (away) and West Ham United (home).

No.	Team	M	W	G	V	+/-	Pnt
1	Arsenal	36	26	5	5	60	83
2	Manchester City	35	25	7	3	54	82
3	Liverpool	35	22	9	4	41	75
4	Aston Villa	35	20	7	8	21	67
5	Tottenham Hotspur	34	18	6	10	13	60
6	Newcastle United	35	17	5	13	22	56
7	Manchester United	34	16	6	12	1	54
8	Chelsea	34	14	9	11	6	51
9	West Ham United	35	13	10	12	-9	49
10	AFC Bournemouth	36	13	9	14	-11	48
11	Wolverhampton W.	36	13	7	16	-11	46
12	Fulham	36	12	8	16	-4	44
13	Brighton & Hove Albion	34	11	11	12	-5	44
14	Crystal Palace	35	10	10	15	-12	40
15	Everton	36	12	9	15	-11	37
16	Brentford	36	9	9	18	-8	36
17	Nottingham Forest	36	8	9	19	-18	29
18	Luton Town	36	6	8	22	-29	26
19	Burnley	36	5	9	22	-35	24
20	Sheffield United	36	3	7	26	-65	16