Haaland reaches 99 goals for Man City; Liverpool lose to Forest at Anfield
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden
Erling Haaland reached 99 goals for Manchester City after scoring twice in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brentford in the English Premier League.
The Norwegian’s double kept City at 100% going into the start of the campaign after Yoane Wissa put Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds left on the clock.
Liverpool suffered their first defeat under new manager Arne Slot, surprisingly 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Manchester United won 3-0 at Southampton to end a two-game losing streak.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions, and was just a few yards away from completing his third successive hat-trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
Haaland, who is nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has led the league’s top scorers in each of his two seasons with City since joining from Borussia Dortmund for $63 million in 2022.
Haaland’s first goal on 19 minutes leveled the scores after Wissa’s opener had stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and fired a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He then proved too strong for Pinnock as he shook off the defender to score his second goal in the 32nd minute.
In the 81st minute he was just inches away, his shot hitting the post after passing the keeper.
Slot suffered his first setback in English football after Callum Hudson-Odoi led Forest to a stunning victory at Anfield.
Hudson-Odoi scored in the 72nd minute with a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area, past goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool were the only team, other than City, to have a 100% winning record after the first three rounds, including a memorable 3-0 victory over Man United before the international break.
Marcus Rashford broke a 12-game goalless streak as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at St Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho added a third in the sixth minute of injury time.
The victory came after two straight defeats for United.
Rashford had not scored since March in United’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool, curling in a shot from the edge of the box to put Erik ten Hag’s side 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the attacker.
For every striker they want to be on the score sheet. Once the first one is in, more will come. Like a ketchup bottle, once it goes, more will come, he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the off-season, headed the ball in the 35th minute from a cross by Bruno Fernandes.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer had converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd minute. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton were reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th minute for a heavy tackle on Garnacho.
Let drama
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Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a penalty in injury time to secure a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th minute, a minute after Mavididi had doubled Leicester’s lead.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the penalty area just before the end of the match and Mateta was calm enough to score the ball.
West Ham later salvaged another point with a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings scored in the fifth minute of injury time after a goal from Raul Jimenez gave Fulham the win.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team were beaten 0-0 at home to Ipswich.
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First publication: Sep 15, 2024 | 01:40 AM IST