Tag: Erling Haaland

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Haaland stuns Real as Arsenal remains perfect in Brugge

Erling Haaland scored his 34th goal for club and country this season to give Manchester City a 2-1 win at Real Madrid on Wednesday as Arsenal maintained their perfect group stage record with a 3-0 victory at Club Brugge .

It was a second successive home defeat for Real following their 2-0 reverse against Celta Vigo at the weekend and heaped more pressure on coach Xabi Alonso, whose side have won just two of their last eight in all competitions.

For Haaland, though, this was a 21st goal in 21 City games this season and a 51st in 50 Champions League starts, while Nico O’Reilly scored his first goal in the competition.

Rodrygo gave Real, who were missing Kylian Mbappe, the lead just before the half-hour mark with a crisp shot across Gianluigi Donnarumma into the far corner.

But academy product O’Reilly equalised just seven minutes later, reacting quickest to prod home the loose ball from inside the six-yard box after Thibaut Courtois had saved Josko Gvardiol’s header.

And Haaland was able to fire City in front from the penalty spot on 43 minutes after VAR intervened to punish Antonio Rudiger for wrestling the Norwegian forward to the ground to prevent him reaching a cross.

It could have been worse for Real but Courtois redeemed himself somewhat for flapping at Gvardiol’s header with a crucial double save to deny Haaland and Rayan Cherki in quick succession as the half drew to a close.

It was a breathless end-to-end second half and Jude Bellingham could have done better than chip over the bar with only Donnarumma to beat, while Courtois made a fingertip save to deny Jeremy Doku.

Vinicius Jr. had a late chance to equalise but skied his volley after Donnarumma had come for and missed an inswinging corner.

Substitute Endrick also clipped the top of the bar with a header as Real pushed for a late equaliser.

Noni Madueke’s double helped Arsenal win a sixth straight Champions League match this season and close in on the last 16.

The Premier League leaders already have more points (18) than was needed last season to secure a top eight spot and direct qualification for the last 16, and they have two matches still to come.

Madueke’s two goals could not have been more different.

The first was a wonder goal in which he beat two players and thrashed in a long-range strike.

For the second he was teed up by Martin Zubimendi for a simple finish.

Brugge had put the Gunners under fierce first-half pressure but they crumbled after the second goal as Gabriel Martinelli added to their misery, bending the ball around the goalkeeper from outside the box.

Elsewhere, reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao but stayed third, behind only Arsenal and Bayern Munich, with City fourth.

Weston McKennie and Jonathan David scored the goals as Juventus overcame Pafos 2-0, while Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle shared a 2-2 draw, as did Borussia Dortmund and Bodo/Glimt.

Goals from Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro gave Jose Mourinho’s Benfica a 2-0 win over Antonio Conte’s Napoli in a battle of the former Chelsea bosses.

Oscar Gloukh scored a brace as Ajax hit three late goals to claim a 4-2 win at Qarabag to finally open their account in the competition this season.

Victory took them off the bottom of the table and kept alive their slim hopes of making the play-offs, while Villarreal slumped to last position after a 3-2 home defeat to FC Copenhagen. (JapanToday)

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Man City crushes Liverpool 3-0 in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game

In his 1,000th game as a manager, Pep Guardiola celebrated victory as if it was his first.

Manchester City’s 3-0 triumph over Liverpool on Sunday was win No. 716 for Guardiola and likely one of the most satisfying of his trophy-laden career.

Not only did City totally dominate the defending Premier League champion and one of Guardiola’s fiercest rivals in a career spanning Spain, Germany and England – but the result firmly established his team as a genuine contender for the title this season.

“Thank you to the players and staff for giving me that incredible present (against) the most important opponent in my time here by far,” the City manager said afterward.

City moved up to second in the standings – just four points behind leader Arsenal, with a well-established record when it comes to chasing down Mikel Arteta’s team. It happened in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 and City’s momentum has an ominous feel about it after taking advantage of Arsenal’s surprise 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.

“In October, November, you don’t win the Premier League. Teams that win the Premier League (are the ones) where everyone in the team is growing. When it grows and grows, you arrive at the end fighting for the title,” Guardiola said. “I have the feeling that we are in that way.”

By contrast, Liverpool, which was the runaway champion just six months ago, is slipping further adrift.

This was a fifth loss in six games after spending more than $400 million in the offseason. The Merseyside club is down to eighth in the standings and eight points off the top.

No wonder Arne, who was mocked by City fans chanting he would be fired in the morning, was in no mood to talk about the title.

“Last season when we were eight points clear it never felt like it was won already,” he said. “At this period of time, as Liverpool manager, I shouldn’t be talking about the top position because our performance needs to be better.”

There is no suggestion that Slot’s position is under any threat, but Liverpool’s form will be a source of concern. So complete was City’s superiority that Liverpool’s morale-boosting win against Real Madrid in the week was put into perspective.

A 3-0 win could easily have been bigger, with Erling Haaland seeing a 13th-minute penalty saved before he headed City in front in the 29th.

Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead when his shot deflected off Virgil van Dijk in first-half stoppage time.

Player of the match Jeremy Doku had tormented Liverpool throughout and he got a deserved goal in the 63rd when whipping in a curled effort from outside the box.

Newcastle fell to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, losing 3-1 at Brentford.

Having lost to West Ham by the same score a week earlier, Eddie Howe’s team once again took an early lead only to squander the points.

Harvey Barnes fired the visitors ahead at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Newcastle was stunned by a second-half fightback from Brentford and ended the match with 10 men after Dan Burn was sent off.

Kevin Schade leveled in the 56th, following Barnes’ goal in the 27th.

Burn was sent off when bringing down Dango Ouattara in the box and Igor Thiago converted from the spot.

Thiago got his second in stoppage time to seal the win, which left Newcastle 14th in the standings and just two points above the relegation zone.

Sean Dyche got his first league win as Nottingham Forest coach after his team rallied to beat Leeds 3-1 at the City Ground.

Victory came after last week’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United and moved second-from-bottom Forest to within a point of safety.

Lukas Nmecha put Leeds ahead in the 13th minute, but Ibrahim Sangare equalized two minutes later. Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson – from the penalty spot – completed the comeback after the break.

Aston Villa quickly bounced back from defeat to Liverpool last week by routing Bournemouth 4-0.

Villa endured a desperate start to the season – failing to win any of its first six games in all competitions. But Unai Emery’s team has powered back impressively by winning eight of its last 10.

Emiliano Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen all scored, while goalkeeper Emi Martinez denied Antoine Semenyo from the spot as Villa moved up to sixth in the standings.

Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 at Selhurst Park. (JapanToday)

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Haaland scoring run over in Man City loss as Arsenal opens up 4-point lead in Premier League

Erling Haaland’s 12-game scoring streak ended Sunday in Manchester City’s first loss in nearly two months, allowing Arsenal to extend its lead to four points in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace — secured via a brilliant scissor kick by former Palace player Eberechi Eze — was made all the sweeter by City losing 1-0 at Aston Villa, with right back Matty Cash grabbing the winner from a fierce 19th-minute strike.

It was City’s first defeat since Aug. 31 and meant Haaland’s scoring run for club and country — stretching back even further, to Aug. 23 — is over. The Norway striker did bundle the ball into the net in the 90th minute, before crashing into the post, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

With beleaguered Liverpool losing 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday, it has been a bad weekend for Arsenal’s chief title rivals.

Somewhat surprisingly, Arsenal’s closest challenger now is Bournemouth, which won 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Even more unlikely is the sight of promoted Sunderland a point back alongside third-placed Tottenham, which won 3-0 at Everton. City is one point further adrift in fifth — and already six points behind Arsenal.

“It’s very early, we’re still in October,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose team is seeking a first Premier League title since 2004. “The emotional state is really high but there are a lot of things to get better.”

City reeled in Arsenal to win the title in the 2023-24 season and is going to have to do it again.

City manager Pep Guardiola isn’t too concerned at this stage.

“I was worried before the international break (in September) when we were 14th in the table,” Guardiola said.

“If they win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulate them. That’s all we can do … but I don’t live in October and November thinking, ‘Oh what is going to happen if we don’t win the Premier League?'”

Eze barely celebrated after producing a wonderful finish from Gabriel Magalhaes’ nod-down to ultimately clinch a fourth straight league win for Arsenal.

“The technique is unbelievable,” Arteta said of the England playmaker, who started the season with Palace before completing a move to Arsenal, the team he supported as a kid, for a reported initial fee of 60 million pounds ($80 million) late in the summer transfer window.

This was a first league goal for his new club — and it came from a typical source, an Arsenal set piece.

It was also another clean sheet for Arteta’s team, which has conceded just three goals in nine games. It was achieved despite center back William Saliba being withdrawn because of injury at halftime and Declan Rice also going off midway through the second half with an undisclosed problem.

Haaland had previously scored in all but one of City’s games this season and, in his words, has been in the form of his life.

But he was unable to make it seven straight Premier League games on the scoresheet as Villa defended stoutly in the face of a late City onslaught to record a third straight home win over Guardiola’s team.

City has lost three of its nine league games.

Cash lashed home a left-footed shot after a corner reached him at the edge of the area.

During the summer transfer window, Bournemouth lost three of its back four and its goalkeeper from last season.

It hasn’t stopped the team making an unexpectedly good start — and a prolific new striker has been unearthed, too.

After Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring directly from a corner in the 25th minute, 19-year-old striker Eli Junior Kroupi doubled Bournemouth’s lead with a long-range strike into the corner — his fourth goal in his last three appearances.

The France under-21 striker is currently playing in place of the injured Evanilson.

It was Sean Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Forest.

Center back Micky van de Van scored two first-half goals at corners and Pape Sarr added a late third for Tottenham in its win at Everton.

Burnley scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to win 3-2 at last-placed Wolverhampton, which has yet to win any of its first nine games of the campaign for the second straight season.

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira was involved in a heated exchange with his own fans after the game. (JapanToday)

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Postecoglou fired; Haaland scores 2 more for Man City and Arsenal profits again from a corner

Around 20 minutes.

That’s how long it took Nottingham Forest to fire manager Ange Postecoglou after losing to Chelsea 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

As for Erling Haaland, he did his damage in a devastating five-minute spell in the second half, scoring twice more for Manchester City in its 2-0 win over Everton to move to 11 goals in eight league games.

City jumped to second place and was three points behind Arsenal, a 1-0 winner at Fulham thanks to another set-piece goal.

Postecoglou was removed after just 39 days in charge of Forest, which didn’t win any of its eight matches under the Australian after he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on Sept. 9.

In a terse 39-word statement issued while the City Ground was emptying following the defeat to Chelsea, Forest said Postecoglou was “relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” after “a series of disappointing results and performances.”

British media had already been linking former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche with the beleaguered Postecoglou’s job. On Saturday, The Athletic reported that former Man City and Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been contacted by Forest.

Goals early in the second half by Josh Acheampong and Pedro Neto, and another by Reece James in the 84th minute, earned Chelsea a victory that prompted loud jeers inside the City Ground at fulltime and signaled the end for Postecoglou.

Postecoglou had been in defiant mood in recent weeks, even delivering a five-minute monologue on Friday in which he rejected talk that he was a “failed manager” and promised to win a trophy at Forest — just like he did at Tottenham last season before being fired.

However, Forest lost six and drew the other two of its eight games under Postecoglou. That included four losses from five in the league, scoring just one goal in the process, to leave Forest rooted in the bottom three.

Malo Gusto became the fifth Chelsea player to be sent off this season after collecting a second yellow card in the 87th.

Haaland has 23 goals in 13 games for club and country this season, having just come off a hat trick for Norway against Israel in a World Cup qualifier last week.

The striker has said he is in the best form of his career and it seemed inevitable he would make no mistake when Nico O’Reilly teed up a cross from the left in the 58th. Haaland leapt high and buried his header.

Five minutes later, Haaland peeled away from his marker in the box and met a cut-back from Savinho with a shot that went through the legs of defender James Tarkowski and past the unsighted Jordan Pickford in goal.

“He’s our key man, what can I say?” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “But at the same time, we cannot rely and do good things just with Erling.

“So our wingers, attacking midfielders and our other players have to make a step up.”

Jack Grealish wasn’t able to play for Everton under the terms of his loan move from City.

Make that 37 goals Arsenal has scored from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season.

The league leader’s 58th-minute winner at Fulham came from a familiar source, as Bukayo Saka swung in the corner, Gabriel Magalhaes flicked it on and Leandro Trossard converted at the back post.

It was a sixth win in eight games for Arsenal, which is seeking a first league championship since 2004 after being runner-up in the last three campaigns.

Fresh off his debut for France, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat trick — including an equalizer from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of stoppage time — in a breathless 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.

Nick Woltemade’s latest goal for Newcastle — a deft flick between his legs into the corner — proved to be in vain in a 2-1 loss at Brighton, which had a goal in each half from Danny Welbeck.

Burnley beat Leeds 2-0 and Sunderland won at home to Wolverhampton 2-0. (JapanToday)

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Erling Haaland: Striker surpasses 20 goals for season as Norway beat Israel in World Cup qualifier after protests

Erling Haaland reached 21 goals for the season for club and country as his hat-trick helped Norway to a 5-0 win over Israel in their World Cup qualifier after pro-Palestine protests in Oslo.

Haaland’s latest hat-trick means he has surpassed the 20-goal mark for the season in just 12 games. His second goal of the match – a header from Antonio Nusa’s cross – made it 50 goals for Norway in just 46 matches.

Haaland could have had more had he converted a first-half penalty, but he saw see two attempts from 12 yards saved after referee Szymon Marciniak ordered the first kick to be retaken because Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz had moved off his line too soon, before saving his second attempt.

Norway’s other two goals came from Israel own goals – conceded by Anan Khalaili and Idan Nachmias.

Before the game, pro-Palestinian protesters lit flares and waved flags as they marched to the stadium.

Public broadcaster NRK said around 1,000 protesters marched from Oslo’s city centre to Ullevaal Stadion, where they were reportedly planning to stay until the start of the game at 6pm local time.

A banner about the war in Gaza was carried by the protesters in what appeared to be a peaceful march. A few dozen fans stayed to continue protesting outside the stadium once the match had started. Only 3,000 spectators were being allowed into the game amid tight security checks.

A Palestine flag was unfurled inside the stadium early in the game along with a banner which read “Let Children Live.” Some fans jeered the Israel national anthem and others held up red cards in the crowd.

On Friday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino appealed for calm ahead of Israel’s qualifying matches after Israel and Hamas agreed to a peace deal.

After Haaland’s winner for Man City vs Brentford in the Premier League, Jamie Carragher described the striker as English football’s “greatest goalscorer” after the game. The player himself said he is in the form of his life. “I’ve never felt better than I do now,” he told Sky Sports.

So, is Haaland getting even better? His numbers make a compelling case.

He has already made history in the Champions League. With his goal his in 49th appearance in the competition against Napoli, Haaland became the quickest player to reach 50 Champions League goals, smashing the record held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who needed 62 games, with Lionel Messi next on 66.

For further context, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Champions League’s leading scorer with 140 goals, took 91 games to reach a half-century.

Haaland has of course been similarly prolific in the Premier League. His goal against Brentford took him to 94 in 104 appearances, giving him an unprecedented strike rate which puts him close to becoming the quickest player in the competition’s history to join the 100-club ahead of Alan Shearer, who needed 125 games.

Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah are the next-fastest players behind Shearer to reach the milestone, all of them trailing in Haaland’s wake.

Haaland’s astonishing scoring rate makes him an outlier and, with nine years still to run on the extraordinary contract he signed in January, and having only turned 25 in July, he is on course to break just about every Premier League scoring record.

If he continues scoring at the same rate, and factoring his average playing time, Haaland is projected to beat Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals in September 2030.

Should he stay at the Etihad Stadium for the duration of his contract, until 2034, the same projection suggests he will reach a staggering total of 389 Premier League goals. (SkySports)

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Haaland fires Man City to win at Brentford, Everton end Palace’s unbeaten run

Erling Haaland carried Manchester City to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal with the only goal at Brentford, while Crystal Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run was ended by a 2-1 defeat to Everton on Sunday.

The Norwegian maintained his sensational early season form to score his 18th goal for club and country in just 11 appearances this season.

Haaland showed his strength to bully his way through the Brentford defence from Josko Gvardiol’s long ball and fire home on nine minutes.

Victory came at a cost for Pep Guardiola’s men as Rodri was forced off in his latest injury setback since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament tear that saw him miss most of last season.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner was in tears when he had to be replaced with an apparent hamstring problem midway through the first half.

Despite a less than sparkling performance, City held out to haul themselves up to fifth and right back into the title race.

Palace missed the chance to go second after suffering a European hangover at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The Eagles were dominant in the first 45 minutes but were left to rue not adding to Daniel Munoz’s finish from Ismaila Sarr’s pass.

However, their UEFA Conference League exertions in winning away to Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday took their toll in the second half.

Iliman Ndiaye equalised from the penalty spot after Maxence Lacroix clumsily upended Beto as Everton fought back to avoid a first defeat at their new home.

Jack Grealish then got fortunate for his first Everton goal as Munoz’s attempted clearance rebounded off the Manchester City loanee into the roof of the net.

“I thought Crystal Palace should have been out of sight, they should have been 3-0 up, but we stuck at it,” said Everton boss David Moyes.

Ange Postecoglou’s wait for a first win as Nottingham Forest manager goes on after a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle.

The Australian is the first Forest boss in over 100 years to fail to win in his first seven games and now faces an anxious wait to see if club owner Evangelos Marinakis decides to make another managerial change over the international break.

“I knew it was a big challenge walking in. That’s what it is and there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Postecoglou.

Newcastle had only won one of their opening six Premier League games.

But Bruno Guimaraes led the Magpies to victory with a brilliant strike from outside the box to break the deadlock on 58 minutes.

Guimaraes then won a penalty after robbing former team-mate Elliot Anderson inside the Forest box.

Nick Woltemade smashed the resulting spot-kick into the top corner for his fourth Newcastle goal since joining from Stuttgart last month.

Forest slip to 17th, the same league position that saw Postecoglou sacked by Tottenham at the end of last season despite winning the Europa League.

After a slow start to the season, Aston Villa beat Burnley 2-1 to secure a fourth win in the last 11 days.

Donyell Malen was the Villa match-winner with his first goals since April.

The Dutch forward opened the scoring after racing onto Boubacar Kamara’s brilliant through ball to slot into the far corner.

Morgan Rogers was the creator for the second that Malen controlled before drilling confidently into the far corner.

Lesley Ugochukwu pulled a goal back but Burnley remain in the relegation zone.

Wolves are still rooted to the foot of the table after conceding a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to Brighton. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal snatches 1-1 draw with Man City with Martinelli’s stoppage-time goal

A goal by Erling Haaland was perhaps to be expected. What Manchester City did next certainly wasn’t.

With an ultra-defensive performance so unlike a team coached by Pep Guardiola, City came close to holding out against Arsenal for the most unusual of wins in a Premier League match between two title contenders on Sunday.

Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, Eberechi Eze played a ball over City’s packed defense and substitute Gabriel Martinelli latched onto it before lobbing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for Arsenal’s dramatic equalizer in a 1-1 draw.

“We’ve obviously gained the respect of the opposition,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said, “… we probably haven’t dominated a game against Man City as we did today.”

No one has.

The 32.8% average possession by City is the lowest by a Guardiola team in a top-flight match, according to statistic supplier Opta.

Rice noted City went to a 5-4-1, adding: “I’ve never seen them do that.”

Back to his prolific best, Haaland made it 13 goals in eight appearances for club and country this season by sprinting upfield and collecting a return pass from Tijjani Reijnders to slot home a finish in the ninth minute.

The Emirates Stadium was then treated to a defensive master class from the visitors as Guardiola, who is famed for cherishing possess, set up City to let Arsenal have plenty of the ball and to defend deep. He kept putting on defenders to protect the lead.

It almost worked, except for the late twist by Martinelli — who has become something of a supersub for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this season.

The result left Liverpool, the defending champion, with a five-point lead after just five games, with Arsenal in second place on goal difference over Tottenham and Bournemouth.

“They win every match,” Arteta said of Liverpool. “It’s going to be very difficult but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine.”

City is already eight points off the pace and showing it is willing to shake up the team’s tactics deep into Guardiola’s tenure.

Guardiola made no apologies for eschewing his long-held soccer principles and adjusting for a match that came three days after a 2-0 win over Napoli in the Champions League. Arsenal had two extra days to prepare, having played — and beaten — Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.

In Haaland, Guardiola also has one of the most dangerous players in the world on the counterattack and it was from that source that City took the lead with the Norway striker’s sixth league goal this season.

“We don’t try to come and be like this,” Guardiola said. “But when the opponent is better and we defend deeper and we have Erling and Tijjani, we can use the counterattack, yes. But our intention is not like this.

“I would prefer to not do it but you cannot expect at this level to not do it. It’s impossible.”

City defender Ruben Dias said it was nice to have such “safety” in numbers in defense and to have a goalkeeper behind with the presence of Donnarumma.

“We are proud of what we have done,” Dias said, “and how we behaved on the pitch.”

Aston Villa ended its goal drought but still couldn’t beat 10-man Sunderland in a 1-1 draw.

Matty Cash blasted a swerving shot from 25 meters that Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs could only parry into his own net in the 67th, giving Villa its first goal after five games in the league.

However, Sunderland — playing with 10 men from the 33rd minute after Reinildo’s red card for kicking out at Cash — equalized in the 75th through Wilson Isidor to leave Villa without a victory and in third-to-last place.

Newcastle rotated its team after a Champions League loss to Barcelona on Thursday and struggled to create many clear-cut chances in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

It meant Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who used to coach Bournemouth, has now not beaten his former side in seven attempts.

Bournemouth was seeking a fourth straight win after an opening-round loss at Liverpool and was unable to take advantage of Newcastle making seven changes to the team which was defeated 2-1 by Barcelona. (JapanToday)