Striker Erling Haaland scored a poker goal, including two goals from penalties, helping Manchester City defeat Wolves 5-1 in round 36 and maintain their right to self-determination in the Premier League championship race.

Haaland has been criticized for being “silent” in big matches but still knows how to explode when Man City meets an underdog opponent. The Norwegian striker’s poker shot and Julian Alvarez’s decisive goal helped Man City extend their unbeaten streak to 20 matches and continue to hold an advantage in the race to win the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s team is still second in the table with 82 points, one point behind Arsenal, but has played one less match. If they win all three remaining matches against Fulham, Tottenham, and West Ham, Manchester City will become the first club to win the Premier League four times in a row.

Haaland launched a volley in Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Wolves at Etihad’s home field in round 36 of the Premier League on May 4. Photo: mancity.com

At Etihad Stadium on May 4, Haaland played his most explosive match since the beginning of the season. In the first 45 minutes, the Norwegian striker had more touches of the ball in the opponent’s penalty area (5 vs. 2), more shots (4 vs. 0), and more shots on target (4 vs. 0) than the rest of the world. Wolves’ squad.

In the 10th minute, Josko Gvardiol was fouled by Rayan Ait Nouri in the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty to Man City. From the 11-mark, Haaland shot to the left corner, opposite the direction of goalkeeper Jose Sa’s judgment.

In the 35th minute, from Rodri’s cross, Haaland jumped high and headed diagonally, causing the entire Wolves defense to just stand and watch. Haaland has scored the most goals in the Premier League since the beginning of last season (11), followed by Harry Kane (10) and Ollie Watkins (8).

In stoppage time, it was the Norwegian striker who won the penalty when Nelson Semedo knocked him down and then continued to kick him. Haaland is the third player to score two hat-tricks in the first half in the Premier League, after the match against Nottingham Forest in the 2022–2023 season. The two previous people who accomplished this feat were Andy Cole and Michael Owen.

Haaland also scored the 21st hat-trick of his career and ninth for Manchester City. The 23-year-old striker has six hat-tricks through 63 matches in the Premier League, more than Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Andy Cole and Dimitar Berbatov, famous strikers who only have five hat-tricks in the tournament.

Striker Erling Haaland scored the fourth goal for Manchester City in the 5-1 win over Wolves at Etihad Stadium in round 36 of the Premier League on May 4. Photo: AP

After Hwang Hee Chan shortened the score to 1-3, Haaland completed the poker. In the 54th minute, from Phil Foden’s long pass, the 23-year-old striker neatly blocked it, turned to his left foot, eliminated midfielder Max Kilman and then finished the shot to the far corner, out of Jose Sa’s reach.

Haaland scored the second fastest poker shot in Premier League history, only behind Gabriel Jesus, with four goals in 53 minutes against Watford in April 2022. For the first time, Haaland scored more than three goals in a Premier League match. Before that, he scored five goals in the win over Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup this season and five goals in the win over RB Leipzig in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League last season.

At Etihad Stadium last season, Haaland also scored a hat-trick to help Manchester City win 3-0 against Wolves in the Premier League. Thanks to that, Haaland became the third player to score a hat-trick at home against an opponent in two consecutive Premier League seasons, after Robbie Fowler against Arsenal in the 1994–1995 and 1995–1996 seasons and Alan Shearer against West Ham in the 1994–1995 and 1995–1996 seasons. season 1994-1995, 1995-1996.

Haaland is aiming for the Premier League top scorer title for the second consecutive season, with currently 25 goals, five more than Alexander Isak and Cole Palmer. In total, the Norwegian striker has scored 88 goals in 94 matches for Manchester City in all competitions.

In the 83rd minute, Haaland made way for Julian Alvarez, the striker making his 100th appearance for Manchester City. The Argentinian star only needed two minutes to make his mark, with an angled left-foot shot sealing the 5-1 victory.

Alvarez celebrates the goal that sealed a 5-1 victory for Manchester City. Photo: mancity.com

Squad

Man City : Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Ake (Stones 69), Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, De Bruyne (Nunes 79), Foden (Grealish 80), Bernardo (Doku 80), Haaland (Alvarez 82).

Wolves : Sa, Semedo, Kilman, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Lemina (Bellegarde 46), Gomes, Traore, H. Bueno (S. Bueno 71), Cunha (Sarabia 76), and Hee-Chan.