Erling Haaland brace helps Man City go second
ON THE DOUBLE: Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's second goal. Pic: AP Photo/Ian Hodgson
It is perfectly reasonable to write-off Manchester City as a one-man team right now.
But when that man is Erling Haaland, perhaps such a dangerous over-reliance on a single individual is understandable.
Maxime Esteve's two own goals at the Etihad Stadium in September mean the Burnley defender remains City's second top scorer in the Premier League.
Fortunately for Pep Guardiola, Haaland has scored 13 of the other 18, seven of the last eight after his latest finishing master class stretched Bournemouth's 100 per cent record at the Etihad Stadium - but not in a good way.
Haaland had managed a goal against the Cherries on average every seven hours but redressed the balance with a trademark first-half double to take his season's tally for club and country to an astonishing 26.
The Norwegian was taken off before the end for the 15th time in his City career while on a hat-trick, after helping to inflict on Andoni Iraola's men a first league defeat since the opening night of the season in August.
November last year was when the wheels fell off City's campaign in spectacular style with five consecutive defeats and no win in seven. Twelve months on, they launched the month with a victory that lifts them to second, six points behind Arsenal.
In a contest that often felt more akin to basketball than football, Bournemouth had the ball in the City net inside 45 seconds, but it was chalked-off for offside due to the youthful exuberance of Junior Kroupi who failed to time his run when sweeping home David Brooks' low cross.
Haaland showed the youngster how it should be done as City took a 17th minute lead. City played themselves nicely out of danger with four passes from their own area before Rayan Cherki redirected a Nico Gonzalez ball with a cushioned header for Haaland to sprint through from half way and beat Djordje Petrovic with a thumping low finish.
An open encounter looked guaranteed to deliver further goals, but it came as a surprise that the next one in the 25th minute went the way of the visitors. From Alex Scott's corner, Gianluigi Donnarumma made an almighty hash of an attempted punch at what should have been a routine catch.
Tyler Adams gratefully accepted the gift as the ineffectual clearance came to earth for the US international to volley the equaliser home from inside the six-yard box.
The Manchester City keeper was booked for his overly robust insistence that he had been fouled in the melee, although his protests were more probably more out of embarrassment at the manner in which the goal was conceded.
Parity lasted just eight minutes before Haaland ran through the latest gaping hole between Bournemouth's centre-backs to meet another Cherki pass before rounding Petrovic to thread home the second left-footed from a diminishing angle.
A first-half hat-trick beckoned when Haaland rumbled through the porous Bournemouth backline for the umpteenth time, only for his attempted chipped finish to be blocked by an increasingly over-worked Petrovic.
The second-half was always going to struggle to match the first for sheer entertainment, and so it proved despite Antoine Semenyo attempting to add to Donnarumma's embarrassment by almost catching the Italian out with an effort from half-way.
The City keeper had to be alert to beat out a first-time Kroupi effort at the end of a fine four-man move and just as it looked like the visitors might level for a second time, City broke with purpose to score a third on the hour.
Phil Foden's cross-field ball found Nico O'Reilly on the left and the young defender unleashed a low angled drive through a forest of legs from the edge of the area which nestled in the bottom corner. It was the first time that a City player other than Haaland had scored in the Premier League for approaching six hours.
): Donnarumma 6; Matheus Nunes 6, Ruben Dias 7, Gvardiol 7, O'Reilly 8; Bernardo Silva 6 (Rodri, 6), Gonzalez 7; Foden 6 ( Ait-Nouri 90, 6), Cherki 8 (Reijnders 73, 6), Doku 6 (Savinho 73, 6); Haaland 9 (Marmoush 82, 6). Booked: Donnarumma, Foden.
Petrovic 8; Jimenez 6 (Cook 62, 6), Diakite 6, Senesi 6, Truffert 7; Scott 7 (Christie 73, 6), Adams 7 (Gannon-Doak 80, 5); Brooks 7 (Kluivert 62, 6), Tavernier 6, Semenyo 6; Kroupi 6 (Evanilson 62, 6). Booked: Truffert, Kluivert.
: Anthony Taylor
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