Haaland helps Man City win 10th game in a row
The brace helped Haaland equal Mohamed Salah's record of 32 goals in a 38-round Premier League season. If you include the 42-round tournament, he is still two goals away from the record of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. However, Man City still has eight matches to play, for the Norwegian striker to break the above records.
Haaland's first goal was a sloppy penalty kick to the right corner, which goalkeeper Daniel Iversen could not block despite slamming in the right direction. In the 25th minute, midfielder Kevin de Bruyne stole the ball from the home field and then poked a slot for Haaland to quickly slide down and then click the ball past the goalkeeper to raise the score to 3-0.
Haaland extended his scoring streak to six games, in which he scored 14 goals, averaging 2.3 goals per game. Another metric that shows Haaland's high form is his 30-minute-per-goal performance in the aforementioned matches.
Haaland left the field to make way for Julian Alvarez after the break, because the match was over at half-time. Man City had a moment in possession of the ball up to 89% of the time, when journalist Daniel Gallan on the Guardian commented that it was difficult for him to find a match with such a difference.
Man City needed a moment of individual brilliance to open the scoring in the fifth minute. Receiving the ball at the edge of the penalty area, midfielder John Stones stroked the left foot randomly to the high corner, giving the Leicester goalkeeper no chance to stop. This is the Stones' first goal in the Premier League this season.
As usual, coach Pep Guardiola withdrew the pillars early to rest, making the host no longer maintain the overwhelming position in the second half. They even conceded in the 75th minute from the visitors' first corner. The 1.98-meter-tall centre-back Harry Souttar joined the fight and headed close to the goal, making goalkeeper Ederson unable to catch. The ball bounced right into Kelechi Iheanacho's position and the Nigerian striker eased the ball into the net.
In the remaining minutes, Man City increased short and small passes to reduce Leicester's excitement. The home side almost conceded another goal in the 85th minute, after a careless pass from center-back Ruben Dias. Midfielder James Maddison captured the ball and rushed down to face the keeper but failed to beat the keeper. Six minutes later, Maddison crossed for Iheanacho to rush down to face the goalkeeper but hit the post again.
Winning their 10th consecutive match in all competitions, Man City are only three points behind Arsenal. Their next opponent in the Premier League is Arsenal on April 26. However, in front of Guardiola's teachers and students is the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final with host Bayern Munich, and the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United at Wembley.
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Stones (Akanji 46), Dias, Laporte, Rodri (Philips 53), De Bruyne (Palmer 62), Bernardo, Mahrez, Grealish (Gomez 74), Haaland (Alvarez 46).
Leicester: Iversen, Castagne, Soyuncu, Souttar, Faes, Kristiansen (Thomas 46), Drewsbury-Hall (Praet 62), Tielemans (Mendy 62), Ndidi, Maddison, Vardy (Iheanacho 46).
