Haaland scores 20 as Manchester City destroys Southampton
Manchester City defeated Southampton 4-0 at the Etihad to move 4-0 up in the Premier League, with Erling Haaland scoring his 20th goal of the year in the process.
The English champions moved two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the standings thanks to goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, and Joao Cancelo.
The Premier League’s showpiece matchup is between City and Liverpool the following Saturday.
However, with the addition of Haaland to a team that has already won four titles in the last five seasons, Pep Guardiola’s men appear unbeatable on current form.
After a few early-season slip-ups, City is now on a six-game winning streak and are starting to find its footing. This season, they have now scored 31 goals in seven games at the Etihad.
It was unexpected that Haaland, 22, did not take the initiative this time around as his sequence of three consecutive hat-tricks in home Premier League games came to an end.
When Haaland rattled the inside of the post after receiving a through ball from Foden in the early going, he should have opened the scoring, but it seemed like only a matter of time before the floodgates opened.
Despite Kyle Walker’s absence at right-back, Cancelo was kept at left-back, and in the 20th minute, the Portuguese produced a goal that Haaland would have been proud of. Cancelo charged forward and fired into the bottom corner.
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As City destroyed Manchester United last weekend, Foden scored his first hat-trick and extended his impressive form in front of goal with a lovely chip over Gavin Bazunu.
With speculations this week that the Austrian is on the verge of being fired, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl might have led the Saints for the last time.
Southampton has lost their last four games following a promising start to the season, and they had no defense against the barrage of City assaults after the break.
Mahrez received harsh criticism from Guardiola for his physical condition in the early weeks of the season, but the Algerian showed flashes of his best when he volleyed home Rodri’s cross to end the game as a contest.
The focus then shifted to Haaland’s effort to extend his amazing scoring streak.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker was guilty of wasting opportunities twice as he missed a clear-cut opportunity to connect with De Bruyne’s cross and then missed a one-on-one opportunity to beat Bazunu.
Haaland did, however, score for the tenth straight club game when he headed in a low cross from the great Cancelo.
