Manchester City again showed their dominance in the Premier League with a convincing 4-1 victory over Southampton. The standout performer was Erling Haaland, who returned from injury in style, scoring two goals to bring up his 30th Premier League goal of the season.
The win takes City back to within five points of league leaders Arsenal, who face Liverpool on Super Sunday. After a lackluster first half, City came out firing in the second, with Haaland rising to head home a Kevin De Bruyne cross in the 45th minute. The assist for De Bruyne was significant as it made him the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League assists, doing so in just 237 games.
Jack Grealish scored back-to-back goals for the first time in his City career to score City’s second goal. Haaland then stole the show with a spectacular acrobatic finish to bring his season total to 44 goals overall and 30 in the Premier League.
He needs five goals to break Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s joint Premier League record of 34 goals in a single season. Sekou Mara put Southampton on the board with a nice finish, but City restored their three-goal lead just a minute later when Julian Alvarez converted a penalty after De Bruyne was fouled. Southampton, still in the basement of the Premier League and four points from safety, suffered another humbling loss due to the triumph.
The performance of Haaland will be a massive boost for City, who have missed his clinical finishing in front of the goal during his recent injury layoff. The Norwegian striker has been in sensational form this season, scoring goals for fun and proving to be a constant threat to opposition defenses.
His brace against Southampton takes him to 30 Premier League goals. City’s recent form has been impressive, with this victory being their eighth on the bounce in all competitions. They have looked formidable in both attack and defense, with De Bruyne, Grealish, and Riyad Mahrez causing problems for opposition defenses.
The return of Haaland only adds to their attacking firepower and will give them a massive boost as they look to close the gap on Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
For Southampton, it was another disappointing result in a difficult season for the club. They have struggled for consistency throughout the campaign and are rooted to the bottom of the table with just eight games remaining.
Manager Ruben Selles will be looking for a solid finish to the season to try and pull the club out of danger and avoid relegation to the Championship. Therefore, it was a dominant performance from Manchester City, which showed why they are one of the best teams in Europe.
The return of Haaland was a considerable boost, and his goalscoring form will be crucial in the season’s final few games. For Southampton, it was another reminder of the gulf in class between themselves and the top teams in the division.
With just a few games left to play, it remains to be seen who will come out on top in the race for the Premier League title, but City has undoubtedly given them a fighting chance with this impressive victory.