Haaland goals too much for Wolves
A fantastic four-goal display from Erling Haaland helped earn City a 5-1 win over Wolves at the Etihad Stadium and move us within one point of the Premier League summit.
The Norwegian was at his unstoppable best as he converted two penalties and an incredible header to seal a ninth City hat-trick before the half-time whistle was blown.
He then added the fourth eight minutes into the second period to restore City’s three-goal advantage just moments after Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan had scored.
Late substitute Julian Alvarez added further gloss to the scoreline with a fifth in the closing stages.
Pep Guardiola’s side have now gone 20 league matches without defeat and, with a game in hand on leaders Arsenal, are just three victories from a record fourth successive top-flight title.
The Etihad was cheering before the players had even taken to the pitch, with Club legend David Silva making a welcome return as a guest for the first time since leaving in 2020.
Once the game began, the Blues were on the front foot immediately.
After attacking the Wolves box from all angles, the reward for our pressure came in the 10th minute in the form of a penalty.
Josko Gvardiol was the quickest to a Bernardo Silva cross, connecting with his right foot.
Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri collided into the Croatian and Craig Pawson had no option but to award the spot kick.
Erling Haaland did the rest, sending Jose Sa the wrong way for his 22nd Premier League goal of the season.
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Haaland could have had a second just a few minutes later, but his header was saved well by a Sa frantically rushing across his goal line.
City remained in the ascendancy, with Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo all buzzing about in the pockets around the central striker.
Haaland’s second instead came in the 35th minute with a header few other than our No.9 could score.
Rodrigo won the ball 30 yards out before receiving the pass back off De Bruyne.
The Spaniard then chipped to the back post where Haaland was already hanging in mid air, suspended above his marker and ready to nod the ball back across goal.
Our deadly striker’s hat-trick was complete before the break with his second penalty of the game.
After racing through on goal, Haaland appeared to have got the ball caught under his feet.
However, a VAR check proved that the 23-year-old had instead been felled by defender Nelson Semedo.
He dusted himself down and cushioned his shot beyond Sa’s dive to match the three goals he netted in Wolves’ visit to the Etihad last season.
Wolves pulled a goal back seven minutes into the second period when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde crossed evaded Ederson, only for Hwang Hee-chan to sweep home.
However, the three-goal margin was restored almost instantly.
Racing on to a ball played over the top, Haaland shuffled it inside Max Kilman and fired for the far corner.
From the moment it left his boot, all 53,481 inside the Etihad knew the net would bulge.
Haaland pushed for a fifth, stinging Sa’s palms again and seeing an acrobatic bicycle kick effort blocked by Toti Gomes.
Instead, the final goal of the game would come after Haaland’s standing ovation in the 82nd minute.
His replacement, Julian Alvarez – making his 100th City appearance, burst into the box and slid the ball home with his left to complete a vital and impressive City win.