Man City waste Erling Haaland aggression to encourage Arsenal in title race
The Erling Haaland Show rolled on but Manchester City wasted the opportunity to put pressure on Arsenal with another home setback.
City’s No.9 bagged his 21st league goal of a remarkable season and the numbers do not do justice to the all-round action that Haaland provides to this team and its fans that has transformed the Etihad in minimal time. But that achievement could not help the team to three points that could prove important at the end of the season as a Demarai Gray stunner provided a reply from Everton that the Blues could not recover from.
It would be grossly unfair to dismiss a team that have won two league titles with a false nine as a one-man team, and there were many things for Blues to enjoy on their New Year’s Eve. Rodri was mostly masterful to keep City in control of a game that threatened to boil over at points, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez combined well for the first goal, while youngster Rico Lewis was supremely confident again in possession on just his second Premier League start.
Ultimately though, they were not enough in a performance that gravitated around City’s No.9 and lost its spark in the second half as he was starved of the ball.. Haaland was stopped and so were his team.
If Julian Alvarez was celebrated before kick-off as the World Cup winner returned early to the squad, from the first minute it was about Haaland. Pep Guardiola sent Phil Foden and Alvarez to warm up as Haaland went down with some concern from a Ben Godfrey tackle and needed treatment on the pitch.
The Erling Haaland Show rolled on but Manchester City wasted the opportunity to put pressure on Arsenal with another home setback.
City’s No.9 bagged his 21st league goal of a remarkable season and the numbers do not do justice to the all-round action that Haaland provides to this team and its fans that has transformed the Etihad in minimal time. But that achievement could not help the team to three points that could prove important at the end of the season as a Demarai Gray stunner provided a reply from Everton that the Blues could not recover from.
It would be grossly unfair to dismiss a team that have won two league titles with a false nine as a one-man team, and there were many things for Blues to enjoy on their New Year’s Eve. Rodri was mostly masterful to keep City in control of a game that threatened to boil over at points, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez combined well for the first goal, while youngster Rico Lewis was supremely confident again in possession on just his second Premier League start.
Also read: City player ratings as Rodri and Haaland good
Ultimately though, they were not enough in a performance that gravitated around City’s No.9 and lost its spark in the second half as he was starved of the ball.. Haaland was stopped and so were his team.
If Julian Alvarez was celebrated before kick-off as the World Cup winner returned early to the squad, from the first minute it was about Haaland. Pep Guardiola sent Phil Foden and Alvarez to warm up as Haaland went down with some concern from a Ben Godfrey tackle and needed treatment on the pitch.