Brilliant Erling Haaland scored 3 goals in one game for the fourth time in the English Premier League this season to give Manchester City a 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton today, Sunday.
City dominated the first half and deserved to take the lead with a header from Haaland after a perfect cross pass from Kevin De Bruyne in the 40th minute.
And it was only a matter of time before City added the second goal, as Haaland executed a penalty kick after a foul against Ilkay Gundogan five minutes after the break.
The Norwegian striker completed the hat-trick after Riyad Mahrez's pass.
3 ️⃣ points
3 ️⃣ goals
✅ clean sheets # City pic.twitter.com/MrXf9b4PCY
- Manchester City (@Cityarabia) January 22, 2023
And the Norwegian striker Haaland broke the record of former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy in being the fastest player to score 3 goals in one match in 4 Premier League matches.
Haaland achieved this number in 19 matches, while Van Nistelrooy did it in 65 matches.
City, the defending champions, narrowed the gap with leaders Arsenal to two points, but the London team played two games less, and will play today with Manchester United in an upcoming summit.
Wolverhampton comes in 17th place.
Guardiola comments on Haaland
City coach Pep Guardiola said about Haaland, "He is required to score, and he has great players around him. He lives 24 hours for his work, his passion and his love. He does not suffer from much pressure. He is stable. His numbers are amazing."
He added, "Our way of playing today is similar to the first half, which ended with us trailing 2-0 against Tottenham (on Thursday). Our level was great, and today our level has improved."
Haaland had failed to score in 3 consecutive matches in all competitions before facing Tottenham in the last round, but he succeeded in leaving his mark clearly in the faltering Wolverhampton goal.
⚡️ @ErlingHaaland is scoring at an incredible rate!
His 24 #PL goals so far in 2022/23 eclipses the winning Golden Boot tally in the last four seasons 😱 pic.twitter.com/gca0vkITFo
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 22, 2023
City created more than one opportunity to score before Haaland scored the first goal with a header before the break, then scored again from a penalty kick.
The penalty kick raised Haaland's score to 30 goals in all competitions by reaching the middle of the season, before adding a goal after a fatal mistake by Wolverhampton goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Haaland has 25 goals in 19 league matches, a tally that was enough to win the top scorer title in the last four seasons.
The record for goals in a season remains Dixie Dean's 60 goals in 1928.
Haaland has more than double the number of Wolverhampton's goals in the league this season.
This team advances by goal difference only from the relegation zone.
"We made mistakes, but the first half worried me more than the second half," said Wolverhampton coach Julen Lopetegui.
He added, "It is always possible to strengthen the squad when the transfer window is open, but it is important that the deals be better than the available ones."