Man City 3-0 Wolves: Erling Haaland hits hat-trick as Pep Guardiola’s side close gap to Arsenal ahead of Man Utd match
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ByEurosport
Updated 22/01/2023 at 18:15 GMT
Erling Haaland hit a hat-trick – bringing his Premier League total to 25 for the season – as Manchester City dominated Wolves 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League. The victory means City now sit on 45 points with Arsenal on 47. Pep Guardiola’s side have played 20 matches – two more than Mikel Arteta’s team ahead of the Gunners facing Manchester United.
Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates scoring a goal to make the score 3-0 with his team-mates during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on January 22, 2023 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Image credit: Getty Images
Manchester City cut the gap to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table to two points with a 3-0 mauling of Wolves.
Coming into the match on a five-match winning streak against Wolves, City always looked like extending it.
The hosts had 92% possession midway through the first half, but the visitors were defending bravely.
After weathering the early City storm, the visitors began to look confident and started pushing further up the pitch.
With five minutes to go before half-time, Kevin De Bruyne dinked a perfect cross in for Erling Haaland to head the hosts into the lead.
10 minutes into the second half, with Wolves having made a triple substitution at the break, the match was over as a contest after Haaland added two more goals.
The Norwegian first dispatched a penalty - awarded after Ruben Neves fouled Ilkay Gundogan - before completing his hat-trick with a tap-in following a Jose Sa howler.
Sa passed the ball directly to Mahrez just outside the box and the Algerian unselfishly squared it to the unmarked Haaland.
The Norwegian made no mistake, and completed his hat-trick - the fourth in his short Premier League career so far - before being withdrawn on the hour.
Wolves introduced Daniel Podence, who immediately shone as the visitors' most effective attacker, but it was too little, too late.
Talking point - Pep gets his reaction
Manchester City were underwhelming in their victory over Spurs in mid-week and Pep Guardiola’s post-match press conference underlined what he saw as the issues. The Spanish coach was looking for a response from his players and got it in a crisp, confident performance.
Haaland was clinical, scoring three goals from four chances, while the midfield behind him all contributed to a dominant display.
Player of the Match - Erling Haaland
The big Norwegian scored his fourth Premier League hat-trick of the season, passing last season’s top goal scoring mark in late January. Haaland had some sloppy touches, as he tends to do, but he was perfect when it mattered.
His first goal showed that unmatched movement and intelligence, while the second and third featured the unflappable confidence that make him such a good finisher.
Player ratings
Man City: Ederson 6, Lewis 5, Stones 7, Akanji 8, Laporte 6, Rodrigo 6, De Bruyne 7, Gundogan 6, Mahrez 7, Grealish 7, Haaland 8. Subs: Phillips 6, Ake 7, Alvarez 7, Bernardo 6, Palmer 6
Wolves: Sa 3; Semedo 5, Collins 7, Kilman 6, Bueno 7; Lemina 6, Neves 7, Nunes 6; A Traore 7, Jimenez 5, Hwang 5. Subs: Ait-Nouri 6, Moutinho 7, Podence 7, Sarabia 6, Cunha 6
Match highlights
18’ HAALAND SO CLOSE TO OPENER - City press high and win back possession. The ball arrives at Haaland's feet in the box and the big Norwegian unloads but Jose Sa does well to save.
28’ GREALISH SHOT DENIED - City break with speed and Grealish decides to test Sa. The Portuguese keeper is up to the challenge and pushes it wide.
40’ GOAL MANCHESTER CITY - Just as Wolves were looking comfortable, De Bruyne finds space down the right and dinks his cross right onto Haaland's head. The Norwegian couldn't miss from there and it's 1-0.
45’ SA DENIES GREALISH AGAIN - The England man drops his shoulder and hammers a shot towards goal, but Sa pushes it out of danger again.
50’ GOAL MANCHESTER CITY - Erling Haaland completes his brace with a comfortable penalty after Gundogan was fouled by Neves.
54’ GOAL MANCHESTER CITY - A huge mistake from Jose Sa who passes the ball straight out to Mahrez who squares it to the Norwegian unselfishly. Haaland makes it 3-0, and he's scored all of them.
Key stats
Man City: 16 - Erling Haaland had just 16 touches in the 59 minutes that he was on the pitch against Wolves. In that time he scored a hat-trick, and forced another good save from keeper Jose Sa. It was arguably a perfect response to the critics insisting the Norwegian must be more involved.
Wolves: 4 - Nathan Collins made four interceptions against Manchester City, more than any other player on the pitch. Collins was hugely impressive, despite the scoreline, and continues to enjoy a super debut season with Wolves.
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