Erling Haaland scored twice to help move Manchester City up to second in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Haaland’s astonishing scoring record is showing no sign of slowing down with his two first-half strikes, either side of Tyler Adams’ equaliser and followed by Nico O’Reilly’s third, taking his tally to 13 in 10 games this season and just two away from 100 league goals.
The goal-scoring machine celebrated his first strike with a robot celebration, but was denied the chance of a hat-trick when he was substituted in the final 10 minutes, with his Man City total standing at 141 goals in 159 appearances.
“There were probably a few Fantasy [Premier League] managers that were not so happy when I got subbed off!” Haaland told Sky Sports.
“I didn’t score in the last game. I try to help the team to win, that’s my goal, either by scoring or winning duels, it doesn’t matter as long as we win. I want to help the team become better. That’s my job.”
City’s victory, their fourth in five league matches, moves them six points behind leaders Arsenal as the ever-impressive Bournemouth slipped to fourth with their eight-game unbeaten run ending.
How Haaland dominated Bournemouth
Man City sparked into life after Eli Junior Kroupi sent them an early warning, tapping in from an offside position within the opening 60 seconds.
The visitors didn’t sit back and played their usual high defensive line which Haaland exposed throughout the first half. He burst through on goal from Rayan Cherki’s header in the 17th minute and finished past Djordje Petrovic.
But Bournemouth were allowed to hit back when Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma failed with his punch at a corner, the ball dropping for Adams to turn in.
However, it did little to rock the hosts and Haaland soon restored their lead. Cherki provided again, chipping a pass over the Bournemouth defence. Haaland had more work to do this time, having to round Petrovic and slotting in from an angle.
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Erling Haaland scores a second goal against Bournemouth to give City the lead again in their Premier League match
The striker should have had his hat-trick moments later when he burst through again, but Petrovic stood tall to block his attempted chip.
Bournemouth more than played their part in an entertaining fixture, starting the second half on top as Kroupi sent a shot into the side netting and was then denied by Donnarumma not long after.
Pep Guardiola’s celebrations over City’s third was evidence of the pressure Bournemouth had put on his side as O’Reilly strode forward from left-back and arrowed a shot into the bottom right corner to seal the win.
Pep: We were so clever
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Despite a convincing 3-1 win against Bournemouth, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was left frustrated in the manner in which his side conceded Tyler Adams’ goal.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports:
“We played really well. We had to be so coordinated with our pressing. With the ball, we were so clever and of course Erling was decisive.
“They destroyed us last season in the Premier League, we couldn’t handle anything. It’s always been tight with them. They are so intense and aggressive. They have threats in Semenyo, Brooks and Tavernier. The holding midfielders are so dynamic and the defence is so aggressive.
“Today is the second game they’ve lost, we’ve lost more than them. They are such a good team.”
On Bournemouth’s equaliser: “The goal we conceded and you see the replay is unbelievable it was not a foul. There are things that are sometimes difficult to understand and why is that not disallowed. That was the moment but we were stable enough to have the momentum to score a second.”
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The Super Sunday panel discuss Manchester City’s reliance on Erling Haaland following the striker’s incredible goal-scoring form.
Iraola: Haaland is amazing – we didn’t play badly
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola speaking to Sky Sports:
“It was not a bad performance by us. We are starting quite well in games. Even when they scored the first goal we were controlling a lot. You have to accept the way we play there are risks.
“It is a season where we have the challenge of a lot of new players but we also have advantage where we have players who have been here for three pre-seasons. We have played just 10 games and we still need a lot of points.
“We have to continue to do the same things. We have another big challenge because we play Aston Villa away next. We have to try and correct the things that didn’t work well today. I am happy where we are.”
On Erling Haaland: “It’s very difficult [to play against him]. He’s amazing. When you press higher and concede the press at the back, he is super fast.”
