Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reminded the Premier League he and his team-mates are ready to return with a bang after scoring against Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
Haaland needed just 10 minutes to find the net in his first competitive game back after the World Cup break, showing he has not lost focus during that time off. Fabio Carvalho and Mohamed Salah drew Liverpool level after goals from Haaland and Riyad Mahrez put City in front in the fourth-round clash, with Nathan Ake eventually finding a winner to eliminate the holders.
Pep Guardiola's side will face Southampton in the quarter-finals of the competition, while there is also the small matter of a Premier League title challenge to resume. City lost their last game before the break to fall five points behind Arsenal and return to league action with a trip to Leeds on December 28.
"We back, stronger than ever!" Haaland tweeted, along with photos of his goal celebrations from the Liverpool game. The Norwegian's opener came when he sent a Kevin De Bruyne cross beyond Caoimhin Kelleher, and De Bruyne also set up Ake's winner.
Haaland goal was his 24th in just 19 appearances in all competitions this season. His 18 league goals put him six clear of his nearest challenger for the Golden Boot, with the tally including hat-tricks against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.
The 22-year-old didn't feature at the World Cup after Norway finished third in their qualifying group. He is one of a number of City stars not involved in Qatar, along with midweek scorer Mahrez, while the likes of De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan fell at the group stage.
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"We've beaten Chelsea and Liverpool [in the EFL Cup already], so we'll see," Mahrez said after the midweek victory over the Reds. "But we'll take it game by game and concentrate on the next Premier League game, which is the most important one for us at the moment."
City's trip to Leeds will come two days after Arsenal host West Ham, so the gap at the top could be up to eight points by kick-off. However, City can take confidence from the fact that they beat the Whites home and away last term by an aggregate score of 11-0.
Guardiola praised a number of his stars after the Liverpool victory, including De Bruyne after the Belgian's two assists. It was a return to form for the former Wolfsburg man after a difficult World Cup.
“I know it's not easy to find every three days this consistency but in the important games, like today was, it has something inside say: ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to be contact, I’m going to fight’. When this happens, it’s Mr Kevin De Bruyne," the manager said.
“What can I say? Eight years has done everything for this club. He is absolute legend. He will be remembered forever one of the greatest, greatest, greatest players of all time for this club.”
