Haaland on CITY SLICKER WILL LAP UP
PEP GUARDIOLA warned that he would be able to sniff out any World Cup slackers in his side – not a whiff of it here.
Just the sweet smell of success especially for goal machine Erling Haaland who has Manchester City on the scent of another Premier League title.
There’s just no stopping the free-scoring striker who doesn’t have a World Cup to worry about with Norway having failed to qualify.
Guardiola last week insisted there should be no let-up in the club’s desire for more silverware after their 21-game unbeaten league run came to an end at rivals Liverpool.
Haaland heeded the warning as his first-half double made it 17 Premier League goals in just 11 games. He has 22 goals in all competitions.
Guardiola said: “The numbers are incredible and there’s no doubting his quality.
“I am Catalan and my English is not good enough to describe him properly. I am satisfied with the points because I knew it would be a tricky game. In the end we did it.”
And it is now 600 Premier League goals during Guardiola’s reign while for Brighton’s recently newly-installed boss Roberto De Zerbi it is five games without a win since taking charge.
He admitted: “We have played very well in the five games but the results haven’t been fair.
“On the VAR decisions, I don’t want to analyse the referee. If we can play at this level we will win many games. But I didn’t sleep too much knowing we were facing Manchester City.”
There was some optimism when talisman Leandro Trossard grabbed a goal back only for Kevin de Bruyne to seal the deal with a magnificent finish.
It had all started to unravel for the Seagulls once Haaland went through the gears.
The opening goal on 22 minutes was purely strength and speed, leaving you to question whether “monster” could be an understatement when describing the Scandinavian. City keeper
Ederson launched a clearance and Haaland, just inside the Brighton half, touched the turbo button to get away.
He then side-steeped the onrushing Robert Sanchez and simply bulldozed Adam Webster aside – unfairly according to the visitors – and calmly fired the ball over the line.
Brighton’s complaints at least prompted a VAR review – but to no avail.
Haaland had increased his amazing goal tally.
If the Seagulls were enraged about that decision they went crazy when City were awarded a penalty before the break – almost four minutes after the alleged offence.
In a congested penalty area, Bernardo Silva weaved his way towards goal only to be brought down, it appeared, by a rogue Lewis Dunk leg.
Referee Craig Pawson waved play on – but with VAR assistant Lee Mason in his ear.
Eventually with no break in play he was forced to call a halt after being summoned to the pitchside monitor.
At least it did not take as long for Pawson to point to the spot with Haaland quickly grabbing the ball before thumping it past Sanchez with consummate ease on 43 minutes. Cue more Brighton complaints.
The fact that they could have taken an early lead when a lazy Ederson clearance fell to former Manchster United man Danny Welbeck, who lobbed over the bar from 35 yards out, had now long been forgotten.
But some hope did arrive in the 53rd minute from Trossard who fired past Ederson from the edge of the area after being set up by Solly March.
That was promptly extinguished 15 minutes from time when Silva jinked towards the edge of the box before finding De Bruyne, who finished magnificently to show that it is business as usual for Pep and Co.