Erling Haaland scored his 20th goal of the season - but Pep Guardiola joked the Norwegian now faces the sack for failing to claim another match-ball.
It says everything about the standards the new Manchester City No.9 is setting that Guardiola and the Etihad fans cannot believe their eyes when he misses the target. Haaland finally got on the scoresheet in the 64th minute, when he swept home Joao Cancelo’s low cross after the full-back had brilliantly exchanged passes with Kevin De Bruyne.
By then, the game was already won thanks to goals by Cancelo Phil Foden and Riyhad Mahrez. But the City sensation could have easily have bagged his fourth Premier League hat-trick in nine games.
Haaland hit the inside of the post early in the game when Foden presented him with the kind of chance he dreams about. Later on, he slipped when De Bruyne had put one on a plate for him. And when De Bruyne provided him with another glorious opportunity soon afterwards, Saints’ former City keeper Gavin Bazunu timed his dive to perfection to snatch the ball off his toes.
City’s fans responded with a chorus of ‘he’s going to score in a minute - and Haaland made their prediction come true. He is now ONLY averaging a goal every 47.7 minutes he has played for the Blues. No wonder rivals supporters have started a petition to have him banned.
A grinning Guardiola said: “I am so unhappy he didn’t score three goals! That’s why there is a petition to sack him from the Premier League – but now it won’t happen because of that. But, no, it is nice. The expectation is so high that everyone thinks that in every game he should score three or four goals. In the end he was there to score one, to help us keep the ball and to fight. Erling played really well.”
City leapfrogged Arsenal to go top of the table - and now have a goal difference of plus-24. Guardiola added: “We created a lot of chances and the people up front needed to be more clinical. But it’s fine.
"We are now playing every three days but the players are reacting to show how they are. We are scoring a lot of goals. We have a good feeling because we are rotating the team and everybody is involved. Everybody knows what they have to do - and if they don’t do it, we can change.”
It is nine assists for De Bruyne already this season - and he is now fifth on the all-time Premier League list after surpassing the number of goals created by Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp.
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“Erling makes it easier for Kevin because he runs in behind,” added Guardiola. “But Kevin can play much better than he did today. He wasn’t at his best. But he could have had another four assists because he has the ability to put the ball in front of goal for his mates.”
If only Ralph Hasenhuttl had such problems. His job is hanging by a thread after a sixth defeat of the season. The visitors were outclassed - but at least Saints’ fans stayed until the end. Manchester United, take note.
Hasenhuttl strode across the pitch to thank them at the final whistle - but insisted he was not saying goodbye. Indeed, the Saints’ boss appeared to be offended to be asked about his future. He said: “I am not thinking in that direction.
“This is the first time in my career I get these questions - and I have been a manager for 16 years. I really don’t use any energy thinking about it. The only way I think is what I have to do to help my team. We wanted to be a brave and nasty opponent - but weren’t nasty enough to be honest. City are a great team but Haaland makes it even harder because he allows everyone in their team to shine.”
