Haaland with double as City defeat Saints

Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.

Action: Pep Guardiola was able to hand Erling Haaland a start with the Norwegian taking his place in the team again ahead of Julián Álvarez.

It took a while for the big striker to get going with his first goal coming just before half-time. City should have opened the scoring after just five minutes when Jack Grealish looked to complete a quick attack but his effort was stopped by Gavin Bazunu – a good save by the young goalkeeper against his former club.

Southampton often got into good positions in the first 45 minutes but couldn’t get the finish tough. Kamal Sulemana came closest for the Saints when he used his impressive pace on a quick counter-attack but his last touch let him down and Ederson was able to prevent the forward from getting his shot away.

Haaland’s came just before the break. Kevin De Bruyne got the assist with a whipped in cross from the left that Haaland rose highest to finish.

Jack Grealish made it 2-0 to City in the 58th minute when he latched on to a De Bruyne ball to be through on goal. Bazunu did well to stop the first shot again but the ball bounced kindly to Grealish to score on the rebound.

The magic moment of the match came in the 68th minute, a chipped in ball by Grealish found Haaland at the far post who was able to get up and bicycle kick the ball into the goal to end the contest and grab a 30th strike in style.

The Saints did pull one back though, five minutes after Haaland’s spectacular effort Moussa Djenepo was able to trick his way into the City penalty area and lay the ball off for Sékou Mara to score against the Citizens for a second time this season.

As soon as Southampton might have thought they could find a way back into the game they conceded a penalty. Kyle Walker-Peters was guilty of bringing down De Bruyne allowing Álvarez to get on the scoresheet when he blasted his penalty straight down the middle to make it 4-1 and job done.

Big Picture: This result was Manchester City's eight win in a row and with Arsenal playing Liverpool tomorrow this could be a significant weekend. The Citizens have also scored four or more goals in their last four games, although it may be a bit more difficult mid-week with Bayern Munich coming up.

Southampton would not have expected a repeat of the Carabao Cup game and stay firmly bottom of the Premier League four points from safety.

Man of the Match: Erling Haaland’s double showed both sides of the striker. The first was the kind of opportunistic finish we have seen so regularly this season. But the second was a spectacular effort that proved what a special player he is.

xG: Southampton (0.54) 1-4 (3.09) Manchester City

8️⃣ wins in a row! 👊

😇 1-4 🐝 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/96hhQ6iNTB

— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 8, 2023