After a glimpse City of ManchesterThe elegant past came as an illustration of its powerful present. David Silva was on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium before kick-off, his first return since leaving in 2021, allowing the City faithful to pay tribute to a former favourite. Erling Haaland entered the field after that, scored four goals in less than an hour and left City demanding just three more victories to win a record fourth consecutive title.
Silva was captain in the first game, but if he was overshadowed on his return, that’s probably how a modest figure prefers it. If there has been a change in City’s identity, from the small Spanish passer to the giant Norwegian goalscorer, the midfielder could be much more emblematic of the Pep GuardiolaIt’s natural philosophy than the attacker. But goals have an eloquence of their own and on days like these, when Haaland is marauding and magnificent, there is a pragmatic logic to recalibrating the team around him.
A ninth City hat-trick, a third this season and, after one in 2022, a second against Wolves extended his remarkable track record. He made 59 appearances in the Bundesliga and scored 62 goals. After 59 in the Premier League, he has 61. This season, when his form is mixed, he still scores 36 goals in all competitions, 25 of them in the Premier League. A second consecutive Golden Boot seems like a formality. In due course, he will likely join Silva among the figures receiving their own statue outside the Etihad. They are, however, very different players. If one of the few criticisms of Silva has been that he can sometimes be an infrequent goalscorer, Haaland has the ability to fly into a rage when he feels weak.
And the Wolves represented a poor opposition. After beating City in October, they were far less impressive in the rematch. The fact that two of Haaland’s goals came from the penalty spot seemed to add to Wolves fans’ feelings of discontent with the authorities, although each decision was probably justified. Gary O’Neil, banned for his reaction to previous arbitration decisions, had to watch his heaviest defeat as Wolves coach from the stands. Guardiola had a more pleasant view from the touchline as City went 43 games unbeaten at home, a club record, and 32 elsewhere, apart from the penalty shootout.
It was the expected response to Arsenal’s defeat at Bournemouth and left the Gunners dependent on Fulham, Tottenham or West Ham to take points from City. There was little sign that the Wolves could counter-attack as Haaland began to demolish them. His two penalties were combined with two wonderful goals.
The opening goal came from 12 yards as, not for the first time, Wolves were the architects of their own undoing. This may have highlighted the problem of playing a left-footed player at right-back, as Rayan Ait-Nouri, caught in an unfamiliar position, brought down Josko Gvardiol following the Croatian shot. Haaland, starting for the first time since the second leg against Real Madrid, dispatched the penalty.
His second showed off his aerial prowess, Haaland producing a towering header that Jose Sa stood up and saw go past him. The instigator was Rodri, who won the ball, exchanged passes with Kevin de Bruyne and crossed.
The third was an indirect consequence of his pace. Nelson Semedo tripped Haaland after running after Mateo Kovacic’s pass; Craig Pawson initially decided it wasn’t a penalty, but changed his mind after watching it. Sa took the penalty kick, but Haaland scored.
There was a brief interlude as Wolves reduced the deficit, with Hwang Hee-Chan dispatching a half-volley into an empty net after Ederson managed to come off his line and just parry Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross past the Korean. This brought a response. Haaland latched on to Phil Foden’s 50-yard pass, cut through Max Kilman and shot past Sa. The newly elected Footballer of the Year he was often compared to Silva, but it was the type of ball the Spaniard rarely played.
For Haaland, it could have been day three when he scored five times for City. Sa made a brilliant save after a downward header. He deflected a rising shot. The striker looked miffed at being sidelined, shaking his head at Guardiola’s decision when Julian Alvarez replaced him.
Instead, the fifth goal went to the Argentine. Haaland may think it could have been his, but it was courtesy of another Rodri assist: these days, Silva can observe, he is not the Spanish midfielder who scores goals for City.
While Guardiola announced the changes, there was a special appearance by Matheus Nunes. A striker-defined day featured a player going on strike to leave Wolves. The £50m man was an afterthought in City’s campaign, but at least his sale served the purpose of helping Wolves comply with the Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Other than that, though, it was a day when the numbers looked better for City.
