Erling Haaland scored a four-goal haul as Manchester City cruised past Wolves 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium to move within one point of the Premier League summit.
Man City showed their dominance early on, taking the lead just 10 minutes into the game.
Rayan Aït-Nouri's foul on Josko Gvardiol in the box resulted in a penalty, which Erling Haaland confidently converted, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Continuing to create opportunities, the Citizens doubled their lead after 35 minutes with a well-worked team move culminating in Rodri finding Haaland at the back post, who headed home.
Just before half-time, City had the chance to further solidify their advantage when Nelson Semedo fouled Haaland in the box. From the spot, the Norway international calmly completed his hat-trick.
Wolves offered almost no threat in the first half but pulled one back eight minutes into the second half after Ederson failed to deal with a cross, allowing Hwang Hee-chan to finish into an empty net.
The hosts quickly responded as a minute later, Haaland capitalised on a swift counter-attack, leaving Max Kilman behind before unleashing a powerful shot into the far corner, restoring City's three-goal lead.
Despite City's continued pressure and attempts to score more goals, Wolves' goalkeeper Jose Sá made several good saves to keep the scoreline at 4-1.
However, Sá was unable to prevent substitute Julian Alvarez from adding City's fifth goal in the 85th minute, sealing an emphatic victory for the reigning champions.
With this win, Pep Guardiola's men remain second in the Premier League table, but now just one point behind leaders Arsenal, who beat Bournemouth earlier today, with City still having a game in hand over them.
5-1 | ||
Erling Haaland 12' (pen.) 35' 45' (pen.) 54' Julián Álvarez 85' | Hwang Hee-chan 53' |