Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
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Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside, Chosen by us to get you up to speed at a glance Haaland target striker admits that he has a figure in mindWatchGuardiola kicks a water bottle at Leeds’s bench63 minutes GOAL! Grealish tees up Haaland51 minutes GOAL! Haaland doubles City lead 45 minutes goal Rodri makes pressure pay. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
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To be fair, this was Erling Haaland the merciful. If the game had come a few weeks down the line, with Manchester City’s goal machine fully up to speed following the World Cup hiatus and over an injury that continues to hamper him, he would doubtless have had a fourth Premier League hat-trick to his name and arguably stuck four or five past poor Leeds. Instead, he had to settle for two goals, which still made him the first premier league player to reach 20 goals before January – and imagine how many more it might have been but for that pesky tournament in Qatar. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Out of respect for the city in which he was born, Haaland opted against any form of showy celebration, instead greeting both goals with a big smile and a quiet sense of satisfaction while his proud, beaming dad Alfe Inge, the former Leeds midfielder who moved to City in the same summer Haaland was born, watched on from a box. Leeds can only be grateful the Norway striker is still some way off-peak condition because they could easily have been bludgeoned here. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Pep Guardiola admitted a foot injury suffered in October is impeding his center-forward and prevented him from training at all during their winter camp earlier this month, words that will send a chill down the spine of City’s rivals because even an undercooked Haaland is much too good for most. Still, for a striker who so often looks flawless in front of goal, it was quite something to see Haaland squander three one-on-ones, particularly the one in the second half he scuffed straight at the goalkeeper. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Both of Haaland’s goals, after Rodri had given City a late first-half lead after a plethora of missed chances, derived from assists by Jack Grealish, who was barracked throughout but overcame the boos – and his own disappointment at missing a series of fine chances – to produce an impressive second-half display, one of several things that will have heartened Guardiola. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
At one stage, City’s perfectionist manager was seen booting a water bottle on the touchline out of frustration, and was clear there was room for improvement in some of their build-up play. But, Haaland and Grealish aside, there was another creative masterclass from Kevin De Bruyne and another accomplished display at right back from 18-year-old Rico Lewis, making his first Premier League start. So the gap at the top is back to five points and Arsenal will know City are not going to give up their title easily. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Leeds were at their best after going 3-0 down, when they pulled a goal back through Pascal Stuijk and had a couple of other good chances, but they turned over the ball far too cheaply, missed the suspended Tyler Adams in midfield, and were only still in the game at the interval because of City’s wastefulness and goalkeeper Ilan Meslier’s resistance. It is six defeats in eight now for Jesse Marsch’s side, who have won once at home since August, and the pressure is building. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
With the wind-up, the pitch dry as a bone, and the Elland Road crowd as hostile as ever, the conditions favored Leeds but if City had brought their shooting boots they might have challenged last season’s 7-0 scoreline against these opponents at the Etihad in the first half alone. When Rodri did finally bundle the ball home on the cusp of half-time, it was City’s 11th scoring opportunity of a one-sided first 45 minutes. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Grealish had managed a solitary goal in 17 appearances this term – and you could see why. The worst of his three misses came moments before Rodri scored when Lewis, who excelled in and out of possession, teased a pass through a narrow gap. It was the story of City’s first half – Meslier twice denying Erling Haaland as well as Ilkay Gundogan, who also missed a header from a fine De Bruyne cross.
Fully aware of his Leeds links, Haaland was spared any flak from the home crowd and Kalvin Phillips, warmly applauded by the locals on his first return to Elland Road since his £45 million summer move, saw the funny side of playful chants poking fun about his waistline. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Phillips had initially been banished by Guardiola after returning from the World Cup “overweight” and Leeds fans were not going to pass up the chance to have a bit of fun at their former midfield idol’s expense. “You’re too fat to play for Leeds” and “Kalvin Phillips, he eats what he wants” went the chants. Grealish, though, was not so lucky, the England midfielder taunted at every turn. For a while, particularly as the misses piled up, you wondered if the abuse was affecting him.. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Before long, Grealish had a second assist – and Haaland a second goal. Meslier got a hand to the ball as Haaland shot from Grealish’s return and, much like City’s first goal, will have been disappointed not to keep it out. On that occasion, City had worked the ball from back to front via Nathan Ake, Gundogan, De Bruyne and Rodri to Riyad Mahrez, whose shot was saved before Rodri’s scuffed rebound crept past Meslier’s outstretched hand. Erling Haaland scores 20th Premier League goal of the season as City brush Leeds aside
Leeds pulled a goal back when Struijk headed home Sam Greenwood’s corner and substitute Joe Gelhardt went close but it was too little, too late.
