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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Man City fans spot moment Jack Grealish "robbed" Erling Haaland of another hat-trick

Some sections of the Manchester City fanbase have been left frustrated by Jack Grealish after he "robbed" Erling Haaland of yet another Premier League hat-trick on Saturday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola's side welcomed Brighton to the Etihad as they looked to keep the pressure on league-leaders Arsenal and did exactly that with a routine 3-1 win over the Seagulls. As has often been the case this term, summer signing Haaland was the star of the show as he bagged himself a first-half brace.

The two goals marked the Norwegian international's 16th and 17th of the league season, an astonishing return considering the campaign is not yet even three months old. To put Haaland's ludicrous goal-scoring exploits into context, his return of 17 so far has matched Harry Kane's entire tally last term.

However, he could have had even more had Grealish spotted the striker in plenty of space on the edge of Brighton's penalty area in the second half. The £100million man had the ball at his feet in a promising area with a clear passing lane open to the feet of City's most prolific marksman.

Unfortunately from the host's perspective, Grealish either failed to spot Haaland or chose to ignore but the outcome remained that the league's leading goal-scorer did not end up with the ball at his feet. The passage of play has hardly helped the former Aston Villa skipper silence the doubters.

City fans took to Reddit to give their thoughts on the moment, with one writing: "Why didn’t Grealish pass it to Haaland here when he’s wide open and onside? Robbed Haaland of his hat trick."

Another added: "Me and my mate watching this live and we all noticed it he had time to make the decision and pass. It was a bad decision by Grealish. He is very hesitant to put a through ball in."

Man City fans did not miss this moment that Jack Grealish failed to notice Erling Haaland in space (https://www.reddit.com/r/MCFC/comments/yat43r/why_didnt_grealish_pass_it_to_haaland_here_when/)

The England international's form has been called into question on a number of occasions since his mega-money switch to the Etihad last summer, but he remains a regular presence in the City side regardless.

As for Haaland, the ex-Borussia Dortmund striker came in for some praise from his manager after the game, though Guardiola stopped short of dubbing him the best forward he has ever worked with.

When asked if Haaland was the "most complete" striker he had ever worked with, the City boss paused for a moment before replying: "And Messi?"

Guaridola went on to add: "Absolutely the numbers are incredible and unbelievable. There's no doubt about his quality. He's not the best but he's one of the best for sure."

He also addressed whether he feels Haaland will break the record for most league goals scored in a Premier League season, claiming: "Listen, you don’t have to be a genius, if he continues to do it in this rhythm, with the average every game, he's going to break the record, definitely.

"But in football, maybe you stop scoring – I don’t know. I didn’t speak with him [about personal records]. I think he's happy when the team wins.

"But all the strikers I’ve ever seen in my career – Lionel Messi, Rpbert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Sergio Aguero – have ambition to score more and more goals. It’s normal. That has to be there."

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