Erling Haaland, a sensational goalscorer from Norway, scored his fourth hat-trick in the Premier League this remarkable season to help Manchester City defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 on Sunday.
In the 40th minute, Haaland headed home a precise cross from Kevin De Bruyne as City, which had dominated the first half, took the lead.
It was only a matter of time before City scored that crucial second goal, which was scored by Haaland from the penalty spot five minutes after the half for a foul on Ilkay Gundogan. The Norwegian quickly finished off his treble to end the game.
Haaland broke the previous record for the quickest player to four hat-tricks in the Premier League held by former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy’s four came in 65 games, while Haaland’s came in 19.
The rest of the game was a breeze for City, who increased their lead over league-leading Arsenal to two points. However, Arsenal still has two games in hand, the first of which is against Manchester United later on Sunday. Wolves maintain their position of 17th with 17 points.
Coach Pep Guardiola said, “He (Haaland) has fantastic players around him. He (Haaland) has to get the balls delivered.” “Kevin’s ball is outstanding.
“He (Haaland) lives for his work, passion, and love every single day. He is not overly anxious. He is solid. He senses his setbacks. His statistics are astounding.
“The way we played today was very reminiscent of the first half against Spurs when we were trailing 2-0,” (on Thursday). Our football game was excellent. Today we made progress.
Prior to his goal against Tottenham Hotspur last week, Haaland had actually gone three City appearances without scoring in all competitions, but he was ready to shoot when struggling Wolves came to town.
Prior to Haaland’s second goal, which was expertly put away from the penalty spot five minutes before halftime, the home team had numerous chances to take the lead.
With half the season remaining, that penalty brought him to 30 goals overall. He then added another to his total thanks to a terrible mistake by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
In each of the previous four seasons, his incredible 25-goal league total from 19 games would have been sufficient to win the Premier League golden boot. The mark of 60 goals scored in a single league season set by Dixie Dean in 1928 is still within reach.
More than twice as many league goals as Wolves have scored this year have been scored by Haaland. Only goal difference keeps them above the relegation zone.
Coach Julen Lopetegui said, “We made mistakes, but the first half worried me more than the second half.”
While the (transfer) window is open, the squad can always be improved, but it’s crucial to develop the players who are already on the team.
