Erling Haaland scored a 19-minute hat-trick to inspire a ruthless Manchester City comeback, coming from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Crystal Palace 4-2 in the Premier League.
The striker netted his first goals at the Etihad since he signed for £85.5m from Borussia Dortmund earlier in the summer, taking his overall tally to five goals in four league games.
It was a marked difference from the first half, when Haaland was largely marked out of the game by Crystal Palace defenders Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen.
Some poor Man City defending had see them two goals down inside 21 minutes as Crystal Palace made life difficult for them once again. Eberechi Eze’s free-kick deflected off three Man City players before being sent past Ederson by an unwitting John Stones inside four minutes.
Andersen was then left unmarked as Eze sent in another set-piece – a corner this time – which he rose to nod home as Man City ended the first half without a shot on target.
Before Saturday, Man City had never come from 2-0 behind at half-time to win in the Premier League but as with most instances under Pep Guardiola, a little bit of history was never going to hold them back as they blew Crystal Palace away in the second half.
Bernardo Silva – subject to reported transfer interest from Barcelona – set the wheels in motion in the 53rd minute. Rodri sprayed a pass to the right wing for Silva to collect, before the Portugal midfielder drove along the top of the area before sending his low shot past Vicente Guaita.
Nine minutes later, Haaland equalised with his first of three goals. It was a wonderful, curling pass from Phil Foden that the striker nodded home, pumping up the crowd as he ran back for the restart.
His second was a typical poacher’s goal. Silva’s pass found Stones in the middle, but he scuffed his own shot that looked to be going wide. But Haaland was lurking at the back post to tap home to see Man City in front for the first time.
At that point, the hat-trick seemed to be inevitable and Haaland completed it in the 81st minute. Ilkay Gundogan was offered plenty of space to drive through the midfield before slotting his team-mate in through the middle. Haaland was ahead of Joel Ward, collecting the ball with ease and holding off the defender before firing home.
It was his 13th career hat-trick at the age of 22, seeing Man City extend their unbeaten start to the season.
More to follow…
