MANCHESTER (England): the Norwegian goalscoring phenomenon Erling Haaland fired his fourth premier league hat-trick of a remarkable season to hand Manchester City a comfortable 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
City dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead after Haaland headed home after a pinpoint cross from Kevin De Bruyne at the 40th minute.
It was only a matter of time before City got that crucial second goal, Haaland converting from the spot after a foul on Ilkay Gundogan five minutes after the break. The Norwegian then quickly completed his hat-trick to put the game to bed.
Haaland broke former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of being the fastest player to four Premier League hat-tricks. Haaland’s four have played 19 games, Van Nistelrooy’s 65.
City claimed victory from there by closing the gap on league leaders Arsenal to two points, but the Gunners have two games in hand, the first of which is against Manchester United later on Sunday. Wolves remain 17th with 17 points.
Haaland had actually endured a mini goalscoring drought of three appearances at City in all competitions before last week’s strike against Tottenham Hotspur, but he certainly brought his shooting boots for the visit from struggling Wolves.
The home side had plenty of chances to break the deadlock before Haaland pounced with clinical precision five minutes before the interval, with his second deftly pushed aside.
That penalty took him to 30 goals in all competitions with half the season remaining, before adding one more to his tally after a terrible mistake by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
His remarkable run of 25 league goals in 19 appearances would have been enough to win the Premier League golden boot in each of the previous four seasons. Dixie Dean’s record of 60 goals scored in a single league season, set in 1928, remains in sight.
City dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead after Haaland headed home after a pinpoint cross from Kevin De Bruyne at the 40th minute.
It was only a matter of time before City got that crucial second goal, Haaland converting from the spot after a foul on Ilkay Gundogan five minutes after the break. The Norwegian then quickly completed his hat-trick to put the game to bed.
Haaland broke former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of being the fastest player to four Premier League hat-tricks. Haaland’s four have played 19 games, Van Nistelrooy’s 65.
City claimed victory from there by closing the gap on league leaders Arsenal to two points, but the Gunners have two games in hand, the first of which is against Manchester United later on Sunday. Wolves remain 17th with 17 points.
Haaland had actually endured a mini goalscoring drought of three appearances at City in all competitions before last week’s strike against Tottenham Hotspur, but he certainly brought his shooting boots for the visit from struggling Wolves.
The home side had plenty of chances to break the deadlock before Haaland pounced with clinical precision five minutes before the interval, with his second deftly pushed aside.
That penalty took him to 30 goals in all competitions with half the season remaining, before adding one more to his tally after a terrible mistake by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
His remarkable run of 25 league goals in 19 appearances would have been enough to win the Premier League golden boot in each of the previous four seasons. Dixie Dean’s record of 60 goals scored in a single league season, set in 1928, remains in sight.
