By Daily Sports Nigeria on October 8, 2022

Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League table with a fabulous 4-0 win over struggling Southampton as Erling Haaland scored again.

The Norway striker had spurned a series of good chances before finally finding the net for his 15th goal of the Premier League season - but by that point, the game had long since been won.

Joao Cancelo's brilliant solo run started the scoring midway through the first half and Phil Foden added a second soon after with City utterly dominant. The returning Rodri set up Riyad Mahrez to make it three early in the second half before Haaland's strike.

While the victory moves Pep Guardiola's unbeaten side back above Arsenal into top spot, a fourth consecutive defeat only adds to the pressure on beleaguered Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The focus had been on Haaland beforehand given that he had scored hat-tricks in each of his last three Premier League appearances at this stadium but it was Foden who was the key protagonist in the first half, setting up the first and scoring the second.

The 22-year-old forward had been rested against FC Copenhagen in midweek along with Kevin De Bruyne and their return provided the impetus. Foden was actually fouled by Kyle Walker-Peters in the build-up to the opener but managed to get his pass away to Cancelo.

The Portugal full-back did the rest, turning James Ward-Prowse this way and that before sliding the ball into the net. He had been switched to right-back in the absence of Kyle Walker in midweek but whichever flank that Cancelo plays on he is a creative force.

The same can be said of Foden. The finish for his goal was even cuter, dinking the ball beyond Gavin Bazunu after being played in by De Bruyne. With so little being offered by Southampton at the other end, that all but ended the visitors' hopes.

After the interval, it was the turn of Mahrez and Haaland - the two men who had been wasteful before the break. Firstly, Mahrez finished neatly from Rodri's diagonal pass and then Haaland swept home after Cancelo's clever one-two with De Bruyne.

The goal maintained Haaland's outrageous scoring while heaping further misery on Hasenhuttl but perhaps the story of this game is that the striker's goals were not needed. This was a team performance - and a reminder that they are still the team to beat.

Source Sky Sports

Posted October 8, 2022

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