Sports
Haaland, Foden’s hat-tricks sink United in Manchester Derby
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks as Manchester City thrashed Manchester United 6-3 to move to within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
Haaland has scored hat-tricks in each of his last three Premier League home games to take his tally as a City player to 17 in 10 competitive games for the English champions.
“You can see the passes we give each other. We always want to go forward and to attack,” Haaland told Sky Sports.
“It’s what I love about the team. In the end, it’s amazing. There is nothing more to say.”
Antony’s strike and Anthony Martial’s late double ensured United avoided a record defeat in the Manchester derby as they remain in sixth, nine points off the top.
Since also conceding four times inside the first 45 minutes at Brentford in August, United had bounced back with four consecutive Premier League wins to offer hope they are heading in the right direction under Erik ten Hag.
But the Red Devils were given a rude awakening of the gulf that still exists between the Manchester giants.
City could have scored many more than the four they managed in a blistering first half performance that swept away any doubts caused by an inconsistent start to the season from Pep Guardiola’s men.
Within four minutes it took two goal-line clearances and a fine save from David de Gea to deny Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva the opening goal.
Four minutes later, City did open the floodgates when Foden swept home Silva’s cross for the Manchester native’s first derby goal.
Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick hit the post and Foden blasted another big chance wide before Haaland inevitably made his mark on 34 minutes.
Haaland’s Hat-trick Haul
United were left to bemoan the absence of Raphael Varane to defend a De Bruyne corner as he received treatment on an ankle injury that forced him off at half-time.
Without the Frenchman, there was no match for Haaland’s presence in the penalty box as his header crossed the line before Tyrell Malacia’s attempted clearance.
Moments later, City showcased their ability to counter-attack as Jack Grealish fed De Bruyne, who perfectly picked out Haaland to convert on the stretch at the back post.
Haaland then turned provider with a low cross that Foden converted to leave United trailing 4-0 at half-time for the third time in a year.
Unlike, in a 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford to Liverpool last season and at Brentford last month, there was some semblance of a United response after the break.
Antony smashed home his second goal in as many Premier League appearances since a £82 million ($92 million) move from Ajax.
But Haaland quickly reclaimed centre stage with a thumping finish to meet Sergio Gomez’s cross.
Michael Owen’s record of three hat-tricks in his first 48 appearances had stood as a Premier League record for over two decades, but Haaland has needed just eight.
City were on course to match the record margin of victory in a Manchester derby when Haaland set up Foden to smash home and complete his hat-trick.
That was Foden’s final involvement as he was withdrawn in a quadruple change as Guardiola could afford to also hand a rest to De Bruyne, Gundogan and Grealish.
United took advantage of City taking their foot off the accelerator in the final 10 minutes as substitute Martial scored twice to cut the arrears.
Ten Hag left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the full match and his decision to instead give Martial a chance to impress on his return from injury proved correct.
The Frenchman headed in the rebound after Ederson parried Fred’s shot and then emphatically fired home from the penalty spot. (AFP)
Sports
Haaland scores as Man City beat Leicester 2-0
Haaland scores as Man City beat Leicester 2-0
Savinho and Erling Haaland scored to give Manchester City, Man City a much-needed 2-0 victory, in manager Pep Guardiola’s 500th game in charge, over Leicester City at King Power Stadium on Sunday, the champions’ first win in five Premier League games.
Man City’s second win in 14 games across all competitions meant they climbed two spots to fifth place in the standings with 31 points, 11 behind leaders Liverpool who have two games in hand. Leicester remain in the danger zone in 18th place.
Savinho netted his first goal for City in the 21st minute when he pounced on a rebound from Phil Foden’s long shot after Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk pushed the ball into his path. The Brazilian fired into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
READ ALSO:
- Lagos heads to Supreme Court over Olaleye’s sexual assault acquittal
- Nigerian govt urged to intervene in Mozambique post-election violence
- Ex-minister says Nigeria doesn’t need France to destabilise Niger Republic
Haaland, who has just two goals in eight league games in his worst stretch of his Premier League career, doubled City’s lead in the 74th minute when he headed home a looping cross from Savinho, who latched onto a pass from Kevin de Bruyne.
Their victory was far from a walkover, however.
Leicester fans screamed for a penalty early on when Jamie Vardy found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from a counter-attack. Ortega brought Vardy down in the box but Man City were saved by the offside flag.
Josko Gvardiol nearly cost Guardiola’s team a first-half goal with a disastrous header back to Ortega that was intercepted. City’s disorganised back line saw Facundo Buonanotte clatter a shot off the bar minutes later.
Leicester had another glorious chance early in the second half when Vardy headed into the box and James Justin got a touch on it that looked headed into the back of the net before Manuel Akanji cleared it off the line.
Haaland scores as Man City beat Leicester 2-0
Sports
Nottingham Forest rise to second after 2-0 win at Everton
Nottingham Forest rise to second after 2-0 win at Everton
Nottingham Forest ended the year on a high by beating toothless Everton to move up to second in the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s high-flying side are quickly turning into the story of the season with stellar showings that are threatening to disrupt the top-flight’s elite.
With Arsenal not in action until Wednesday, victory at Goodison Park guaranteed finishing the day just a place behind leaders Liverpool, who travel to West Ham later on Sunday (kick-off 17:15 GMT).
Striker Chris Wood was involved in both of his side’s goals, netting a delightful finish for his 11th league goal of a fruitful campaign, before feeding Morgan Gibbs-White for the captain to coolly convert in the second half.
READ ALSO:
- Air Canada flight partially catches fire after rough landing
- 2027: Why PDP shouldn’t field northern presidential candidate – Ex-Atiku campaigner
- Paris-bound businessman excretes 74 wraps of heroin, cocaine at Abuja airport
New Zealander Wood had given the Everton defence a couple of warning signs when he fired a long-range volley wide and flicked a header over, but made no mistake when exchanging headers with Anthony Elanga before producing a lofted finish over the stranded Jordan Pickford.
At the other end, Armando Broja was given his first Toffees start and showed quick feet on the edge of the area but drilled wide, while Ramon Sosa should have doubled Nottingham’s lead before half-time when played through, but the Paraguayan sent his shot the wrong side of the post.
Gibbs-White made sure of the points just after the hour mark, cutting inside and firing home to lift Nottingham up to being Liverpool’s closest title challengers at the halfway stage.
Nottingham Forest rise to second after 2-0 win at Everton
Sports
Salah strikes as Liverpool hammer West Ham 5-0
Salah strikes as Liverpool hammer West Ham 5-0
Liverpool stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as they thrashed an abject West Ham United at the London Stadium.
It was another capital goal-fest for Arne Slot’s irresistible side after the 6-3 win at Tottenham seven days previously, the outcome never in doubt as a first-half masterclass left a desperately passive Hammers well beaten.
Liverpool had already missed several chances before Luis Diaz gave them the lead with a powerful finish on the half-hour mark. Cody Gakpo was then the beneficiary of Mohamed Salah’s brilliant footwork to add a second after 40 minutes, before the Egyptian inevitably got in on the act himself with a low drive on the stroke of half-time for his 20th goal of a superb season.
READ ALSO:
- Air Canada flight partially catches fire after rough landing
- 2027: Why PDP shouldn’t field northern presidential candidate – Ex-Atiku campaigner
- Paris-bound businessman excretes 74 wraps of heroin, cocaine at Abuja airport
Julen Lopetegui’s side could not even manage damage limitation as Trent Alexander-Arnold added the fourth after 54 minutes when his long-range effort took a deflection off Max Kilman’s head past Alphonse Areola.
Only Mohammed Kudus offered anything resembling hope for the hosts, hitting the woodwork in each half while Luis Guilherme did the same just before the end, but this was no consolation as they were utterly outclassed by this rampant Liverpool outfit.
The gap in quality was emphasised six minutes from time when Salah bamboozled several West Ham defenders with a brilliant run from inside his own half before setting up substitute Diogo Jota for a typically clinical finish
Salah strikes as Liverpool hammer West Ham 5-0
-
Africa3 days agoNiger’s president faces fire at home over attack on Nigeria
-
International3 days agoBashar Assad relatives arrested while trying to fly out of Lebanon
-
Opinion3 days agoTinubu’s Buharization of NNPC By Farooq Kperogi
-
Politics1 day agoGbajabiamila speaks on his rumoured Lagos governorship ambition
-
metro1 day agoFarotimi to pursue disbarment over arrest, defamation allegations
-
metro2 days agoWe’re not aware of VeryDarkMan’s missing N180m — Police
-
metro2 days agoNDDC empowers Niger Delta young entrepreneurs with N30bn
-
metro3 days agoFG pays N1.1bn professional fees to Afe Babalola, other top lawyers – Report