On Sunday, Erling Haaland scored his first Premier League goal since February, a brilliant move which allowed Manchester City to beat Arsenal 2-1 and take a serious chance of the title. A magical dribble from Rayan Cherki gave City the advantage during this decisive meeting in Manchester, before a poor recovery from Gianluigi Donnarumma allowed Kai Havertz to equalize.
But Haaland struck in the second half, giving City a victory that would take them top of the table on goal difference if they beat Burnley on Wednesday.
The Citizens hit the ground running and could have opened the score in the first five minutes. Haaland first wrong-footed David Raya after a clearance that was too short, then his shot was pushed away, giving Cherki a striking opportunity. The ball bounced off Gabriel Magalhaes’ shoulder, hit the post and rolled over the line without completely crossing the goal line.
Cherki finally opened the scoring with a brilliant solo action: a slalom between three defenders concluded by a slide of the ball into the opposite corner. Less than sixty seconds later, the masterpiece was spoiled by a big mistake from Donnarumma, who mishandled the ball in his area before seeing his desperate shot hit Havertz and end up in the net.
The Italian goalkeeper partly made up for his mistake by pushing away a close range effort from Havertz in the second half, before Eberechi Eze hit the inside of the post. Haaland also hit the woodwork at the start of the second half, but he took advantage of his second opportunity to give City the three points.
GOAL notes City players at the Etihad Stadium…
Leave a Reply