Haaland Equals Salah's Record As City Cut Arsenal's Lead
16 April, 2023
Erling Haaland bagged a brace as Manchester City moved three points behind Arsenal after defeating Leicester City 3-1 on Saturday.
Premier League
Result: Manchester City 3-1 Leicester City
Date: 15 April 2023
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Pep Guardiola made three changes from the win over Bayern Munich, with Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez recalled at the expense of Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Illkay Gundogan.
The Citizens got off the perfect start when John Stones opened the scoring on five minutes courtesy a superb volley on the edge of the box that sailed into the bottom corner.
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It looked to be a long evening for Leicester when the hosts were awarded a penalty in the 13th minute for a foul on Jack Grealish, which allowed Erling Haaland to slot home.The third goal arrived in the 24th minute when Kevin de Bruyne threaded a fine pass for Haaland, who took one touch before dinking the ball over goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
That goal took Haaland's tally in the Premier League to 32 goals, which sees him equal Mohamed Salah's record for most goals in a league season while he is two goals from matching the all-time record set by Andy Cole.
That would be his final goal of the game though, as Guardiola withdrew the Norwegian striker and Stones for Akanji and Julian Alvarez at the start of the second half. The hosts nearly added a fourth goal in the 61st minute through Mahrez, who carved out some space on the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike that was turned away by Iversen.
The Foxes did manage to pull a goal back with 15 minutes left on the clock as substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scored his former side with a close-range finish after a mix-up between Kalvin Phillips and Ederson in the box.
Leicester did have a couple more sights at goal in the latter stages of the second half, but Maddison was unable to profit as the Citizens while Iheanacho hit the upright minutes later as City held on for the win.
League leaders Arsenal, however, can restore their six-point lead at the top when they take on London rivals West Ham United on Sunday.
Source: www.snl24.com
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