Erling Haaland has matched yet another Premier League record with a stunning two-goal performance against Southampton in a 4-1 victory. Manchester City have closed the gap on Arsenal to just five points after securing a crucial win over Ruben Selles’ side at St Mary’s.
Haaland was the star of the show once again, scoring his 43rd goal of the season by heading home City’s opener from a Kevin De Bruyne cross just before half-time. This was also De Bruyne’s 100th Premier League assist, making him the quickest player to achieve this feat in just 237 matches. The second-placed player to complete the feat, Cesc Fabregas, took 298 matches to reach 100 assists.
Just minutes before City’s opener, Haaland had missed a decent chance that led to the home fans serenading him with a chorus of “you’re just a s*** Rickie Lambert”. However, Haaland answered the supporters in perfect fashion, scoring his 43rd goal of the season in the process.
The goal came at a horrible time for Southampton, who had given City a great game up to that point. Kamaldeen Sulemana, who joined Saints for a club-record £22million in January, had caused City’s defence all sorts of problems. Haaland scored his second of the match in the 68th minute with a sensational overhead kick in what was his 44th goal of the season.
Haaland’s total goal tally this season has already seen him draw level with Mohamed Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy for the most goals scored for a Premier League club in a single campaign in all competitions. With plenty left of the season, it is almost inevitable that Haaland, who has now scored more top-flight goals than Chelsea this season, will go on to absolutely smash that record out of the park. That was also his 30th Premier League goal this term, with Haaland taken off immediately after as Pep Guardiola denied him the chance to bang in his seventh hat-trick in City colours.
Sekou Mara grabbed one late on for the hosts, but it was too little too late, with Southampton then shooting themselves in the foot as Kyle Walker-Peters fouled De Bruyne in the box. And as a rueful Haaland watched on from the bench, his replacement Julian Alvarez fired home from the penalty spot to restore their three-goal lead.
City have now cut the gap at the top of the table to five points as they once again put the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s men. The Gunners take on Liverpool in the late kick-off on Sunday, knowing that they will need to win to stave off City for at least another week. The Premier League champions, meanwhile, will take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League tie next week as they chase success in multiple competitions.