MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A fully rested Erling Haaland could make it even harder for any Premier League rival to knock Manchester City off its perch this season.
Haaland netted his seventh Premier League hat trick in a 4-1 win over promoted Ipswich on Saturday to take his tally to four goals in the opening two games of the season.
And according to City manager Pep Guardiola, the striker’s early productivity is due at least in part to Haaland having the summer off after Norway missed out on the European Championship.
“Last season he struggled a lot, especially at the beginning,” Guardiola said. “He felt tired and niggles most of the time. This time with the rest, with no Euros, he has arrived with a good vibe. The numbers are unbelievable.”
Haaland has been the Premier League’s leading scorer in each of the two seasons he’s spent at City — which has won the last four titles — but his tally dropped from 36 goals in 2022-23 to 27 in the last campaign. He now has 10 hat tricks in all competitions for City.
After netting the opener in a 2-0 win at Chelsea last weekend, he got two quick-fire goals in the first half as City turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead against Ipswich in less than four minutes.
Haaland first equalized with a penalty in the 12th minute and made it 3-1 in the 16th after running onto a perfect ball over the top from Kevin De Bruyne and going around goalkeeper Arijanet Muric. De Bruyne had scored the second into an empty net after City winger Savinho robbed Muric of the ball, and Haaland completed his hat trick from outside the area in the 88th.
There was also a warm reception for City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who came on in the 71st minute after returning to the club from Barcelona on a one-year deal.
“It feels like I’ve honestly never been away,” Gundogan said. “It feels like home.” ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
