Erling Haaland guided Manchester City to a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as the Cityzens continued their march towards their fourth successive Premier League title.
Haaland, who returned after a long injury, broke the deadlock in the 70th minute and then doubled his side’s lead in the 85th minute as City ended the game with a victory.
While doing so, the prolific Norwegian striker completed 51 PL goals in his first 50 starts, more than any other in their first 50 starts in the competition.
City dominated the game with more possession, which comes as no surprise, but they had to fight really hard to find the back of Jordan Pickford’s net as the hosts’ held up their defense really well.
Pep Guardiola’s troops recorded their sixth consecutive win in the PL. On the other hand, Everton are now winless in their last seven league matches.
Guardiola was content with his team’s performance after the match as he praised his players for stepping up in a tough match.
“It’s a big achievement. I love to win these types of games - the difficulty is there, we knew it, we talked about suffering and knowing how difficult everything is. Nothing is granted, the way they celebrated goals shows how difficult it was,” Guardiola said.
“With Erling and Kevin, we are stronger, it’s obvious.” Next they are at Copenhagen in Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 opening leg, as they begin the next phase of trying to retain that title.
Remember, Man City are currently second in the PL with 52 points from 23 matches, one less than table-toppers Liverpool. Guardiola’s men can go top of the table if they win the remaining game in hand.