Manchester City did what it had to do in the battle for the title in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Josep Guardiola’s team was 1-4 too strong at Southampton due to goals from Erling Braut Haaland (twice), Jack Grealish and Julián Álvarez. The second of Haaland in particular was of rare beauty. For the Norwegian it meant his 29th and 30th league goal of the season. With this, Haaland is seriously chasing the record for most goals in one Premier League season set by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole: 34.
Guardiola had one change in store compared to the 4-1 home win against Liverpool. Haaland returned at the point of the attack at the expense of Álvarez. The visitors attacked from the first whistle, knowing that the gap to Arsenal, which will play the top match against Liverpool on Sunday, could at least be reduced to five points for a while. A shot by Ilkay Gündogan could barely be blocked by a Southampton defender after fifteen minutes of play.
Haland ?? DeBruyne
Just before half-time, Haaland hits a header from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross. For the Belgian, that is his th assist in the Premier League. He is the 5th player to achieve this milestone!https://t.co/YFDsejzEcF#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/Gwe5X7g0hJ— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) April 8, 2023
Surprisingly enough, the corner that followed resulted in the first danger for the home team. After a too short pass to Kevin De Bruyne, Kamaldeen was able to intercept Sulemana. The former target of Ajax had a free passage towards Ederson, but was well defended by Nathan Aké. On the stroke of half time, the spell was broken by Haaland. After Sulemana killed his second chance by firing wide, his fellow attacker on the other side was razor sharp. On a pass from De Bruyne, Haaland headed in from close range: 0-1.
For De Bruyne it meant his hundredth assist in the shirt of Manchester City. After the break, the Belgian again proved his worth by being at the base of the 0-2. The midfielder had a flawless deep pass to Grealish, after which the latter finished in two instances with the outside of the right boot. City had Southampton completely under control at the time and closed the game twenty minutes before the end. This time Grealish took care of the preparatory work and Haaland was again the final destination. The Norwegian rounded off in a formidable way with a bicycle kick.
WHAT. A. GOAL! ??
Erling Haaland scores his thirtieth Premier League goal with a beautiful ???????????????? ???????? ??#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/XYKXgHNNnD— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) April 8, 2023
Guardiola then quickly took Haaland off for next Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich. Álvarez was his replacement and he also appeared on the scoreboard five minutes after coming on. The Argentinian was allowed to moor from eleven meters after a foul by Kyle Walker-Peters on De Bruyne. Álvarez did not fail and left goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu without a chance. Moments before, Sekou Mara had scored the honorary goal on behalf of the home team. City thought it was good and is looking forward to the clash with Bayern with an excellent feeling.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 29 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 43 | 72 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 64 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 29 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 27 | 56 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 29 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 56 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 53 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 47 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 46 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 43 |
| 9 | Brentford | 30 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 43 |
| 10 | Fulham | 29 | 11 | 6 | 12 | -1 | 39 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 39 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton W. | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | -18 | 31 |
| 13 | West Ham United | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | -12 | 30 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | -15 | 30 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | -29 | 30 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 29 | 7 | 8 | 14 | -11 | 29 |
| 17 | Everton | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -20 | 27 |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -30 | 27 |
| 19 | Leicester City | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | -12 | 25 |
| 20 | Southampton | 29 | 6 | 5 | 18 | -24 | 23 |