Unstoppable!
Another Haaland hat-trick – his fourth for City – as more records tumble. The Norwegian hitman is simply…
HOW’S that for fire, Pep? Well, a performance warm enough to toast marshmallows in the Manchester cold rather than a roarer. Pleasant without becoming particularly wild.
But it presented a strong followup to last week’s dramatics for starters, when Pep Guardiola vented at a lack of desire and passion engulfing the club, one he felt was not showing nearly enough hunger to defend another title.
Those feelings had been festering for weeks and he picked his moment to vent after a rousing victory, a ploy he has used countless times during seven years at Manchester City and one — by this juncture — that is rather transparent.
He never criticises after defeats or bad displays, so patiently waited for the night of Tottenham. We all know this, and so must the players, yet it still provokes reactions.
City still possess a few extra logs to chuck on in reserve to further stoke up this season and Guardiola will want those utilised when the schedule becomes packed with relentless must-win games at home and abroad.
For now, Wolves were dispatched with relative ease, hope extinguished during a 14-minute spell either side of halftime when Erling Haaland surpassed the totals of all Golden Boot winners since 2018. He has played 19 matches. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer’s joint-record of 34 looks like it will fall to a man who operates in a division with two fewer teams. ‘Today, we made a step but it’s just one game,’ said Guardiola. ‘There were a few things that I liked. It’s getting better. The message is clear: it’s just one game. I have to wait. There are things… we have a lack of concentration. There are many details. The reality is that we are still behind Arsenal.’ Whether they see an upturn in the long term will be fascinating. They took their time to take this away from Wolves,
who aggressively stopped the likes of Rico Lewis in their tracks early to unsettle their rhythm. The pattern of play was set — City boasting way over 80 per cent possession — and it only really opened up more once Haaland powered in the first.
That came five minutes before the break, Haaland beating Nathan
Collins to Kevin De Bruyne’s centre. A 23rd Premier League goal, more than anyone else at City under Guardiola. And he was not finished for the afternoon.
‘The numbers are incredible,’ said Guardiola (left). ‘The first goal is because he’s there, the delivery is fantastic. He lives 24 hours for his profession, it’s his love. He’s no stressed, he’s stable.’
Until then, Haaland had been fru trated by Collins. The nimble cent half completed a number of sma interceptions, one catching the ey when City’s No 9 raced through.
Collins also saved Jack Grealish shot off the line, heading clea although was fortunate not to hav conceded a penalty when scrapin Grealish’s calf. David Coote left th decision to VAR, who said carry o
Coote was in no doubt abou another appeal, on 50 minute when substitute Nathan Ake slice open Wolves for Ilkay Gundogan gallop through. Ruben Neves ra into Gundogan, tripping the Ci captain, and Haaland grateful slapped the spot kick down th middle.
Jose Sa did not have much of prayer with the penalty but h involvement in Haaland’s third wa utterly bizarre. Playing out from th back, his attempted pass int midfield was under-hit and
nowhere near the intended target. Riyad Mahrez barely moved to retrieve the errant ball, knocked sideways for Haaland and from there he passed into Sa’s net, guarded only by the despairing Collins. Sa collapsed to the turf.
‘Sometimes you have to take risks, it’s not about playing short or long — you have to take good decisions,’ said Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui. ‘We want to damage the opposition and I want improvement.’
Sergio Aguero holds the Premier League hat-tricks, scoring 12 during his decade at City, and Haaland is now only eight behind six months into his spell here. And people were wondering whether he makes this team worse. Guardiola afforded him a rest just after the hour, complete with a standing ovation.
City might have really embarrassed Lopetegui again after dismantling his Sevilla side in the Champions League in September. Gundogan inexplicably headed over inside the six- yard box, while Mahrez, electric on the right again, saw his big toe flagged offside when dinking in De Bruyne’s through ball. Julian Alvarez nearly added a fourth, while Pablo Sarabia had his moments on debut for the visitors.
‘We are the champions for a reason and we want to be champions again,’ said John Stones. ‘I didn’t see the comments from Pep. But I knew what he said to us at half-time (last week) and what he knows we can do and us as players when you are not playing as well as you can.’
MAN CITY (3-2-4-1): Ederson 7; Stones 7.5, Akanji 7, Laporte 7; Lewis 6 (Ake 46min, 7), Rodri 8 (Phillips 77); Mahrez 8.5 (Palmer 81), De Bruyne 7.5 (Silva 77), Gundogan 6.5, Grealish 7.5; HAALAND 9 (Alvarez 61, 7). Scorer: Haaland 40, 50 (pen), 54.
Booked: Rodri.
Manager: Pep Guardiola 7.
WOLVES (4-5-1): Sa 5; Semedo 5, Kilman 5, Collins 7, Bueno 5 (Ait-Nouri 81); Traore 6 (Sarabia 46, 6.5), Nunes 6, Neves 6, Lemina 6 (Podence 67, 7), Hwang 6 (Moutinho 46, 6); Jimenez 6 (Cunha 46, 6).
Booked: Kilman, Lemina.
Manager: Julen Lopetegui 6.
Referee: David Coote 7. Attendance: 53,282.