Patrick Vieira was left unsurprised by the brilliance of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland after he scored his first Premier League hat-trick against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Norwegian frontman inspired a superb comeback for the Premier League champions after going two goals down inside 21 minutes at the Etihad. A John Stones own-goal and a Joachim Andersen header put Palace 2-0 up at the break, but City would mount a super second-half comeback with Haaland and Bernardo Silva leading the charge.
The Portuguese pulled one back for the home side eight minutes into the second period, cutting inside from the right before unleashing a low drive that deflected past Vicente Guaita. Haaland got City back on level terms moments later after heading in from six yards out.
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An easy-tap in on the 70th minute put City in front and Haaland would complete a 19-minute hat-trick with a fierce shot past Guaita after shrugging off Joel Ward and Joachim Andersen to latch onto Ilkay Gundogan’s through ball.
Vieira, although disappointed to lose three points from his grasp, applauded his Palace side for a perfect first-half performance that kept Haaland at bay. But the Frenchman admits his side lost their concentration after the restart which allowed Haaland to punish the Eagles.
Vieira said: “There is no surprise about the quality of the player. I think it’s the quality of this Manchester City team that always allowed those players to shine and score goals. I think collectively they went through a different level in the second-half we couldn’t cope with. That’s the reality of the game.”
Vieira added: “Planning the game is about trying not to give him so much space inside the box because he is someone who moves well. He’s a goalscorer, there’s no doubt about it.
“I think in the first-half we did quite well not to give him that space to express himself. Then in the second-half, when we were a bit late to put pressure on the ball and didn’t defend the second ball that well, he was there and took his chances.”
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