Returning Haaland powers Man City to vital victory over Tottenham | OneFootball

Having both endured their fair share of suffering this season, Tottenham Hotspur‘s clash with Manchester City was always going to be full of intrigue to see who would come out on top.

While Spurs came in with some solid momentum after recording three consecutive league wins, Man City were reeling after getting dumped out of the Champions League and being dismantled by Liverpool. But it was the latter who got the job done 0-1 courtesy of their superstar striker Erling Haaland.

Returning from injury for this one, Haaland wasted little time in flexing his muscles to give his team an early lead from close range. The goal remarkably saw him become just the second player in history to score 20 or more goals in each of his first three Premier League seasons, joining Ruud van Nistelrooy, who achieved the feat from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

While he thought he’d sealed the victory late with a superb finish following a bulldozing run, which was eventually chalked off after a VAR review, Haaland still ultimately proved the difference-maker to mark his comeback to the starting lineup in style.

The Norwegian marksman led the line with authority and conviction to keep the heat on the Tottenham backline, yet again underlining why he’s such an indispensable asset for Pep Guardiola.

Standing 6’4″ and such a towering and imposing presence, there was much to like about his hold up play when dropping with his back to goal. Haaland served as a terrific outlet for his team from goal kicks and throw-ins, as well as if they couldn’t beat the press and needed to go long.

Using his immense strength and impressive balance to withstand pressure, Haaland was vital in helping his team win second balls and knit play together with some crisp passes to breathe life into counters or slower, more methodical possession sequences.

Providing Man City with the focal point they’d been screaming out for in his absence, it was also important to note how smartly he’d check deep into vacant spaces between the lines to link play. Quick to notice when a passing lane was open into him, which usually occurred when Tottenham’s central midfielders were lured away by Man City’s midfielders, Haaland could subsequently lay the ball off to forward facing teammates to maintain the speed of attacks.

Indeed, Haaland’s 12th-minute strike offered a fine encapsulation of his class here, where he intelligently found acres of space after checking towards the ball before feeding Nico Gonzalez. Haaland then immediately spun away and embarked on an expertly-timed and directed run into the box, which meant he was ideally situated to be in the right place at the right moment to apply the finish to Jeremy Doku’s delivery.

The way he dovetailed with Omar Marmoush was another crucial aspect of his match, for the dynamic duo were frequently creating space for one another and wreaking havoc in the final third. Be it pinning or drawing markers to generate room, interchanging subtly so one could get free or performing opposite movements, they were a constant thorn in Tottenham’s side.

Effectively altering reference points for defenders and posing dilemmas on who should be tracking who, this confusion often led to either getting the separation they craved to get dangerous.

While Haaland can seem disinterested at times and grumpy with his colleagues, the man who’s very economical and strategic with his movement admirably covered 10km in this clash, in a game where a lot of his hard running, in behind especially, went unrewarded.

Clinical, instinctive and adding so much quality going forward for Man City, Haaland’s goal also saw him become the second player to score 10 or more home goals and 10 or more away goals in three consecutive Premier League seasons, after Harry Kane.

While he demonstrated emphatically how badly Man City miss him when he’s sidelined, it actually could have been an even better night if Haaland had converted more of his chances and had his second goal been allowed to stand.

But all things considered, the 24-year-old rightfully cut a content figure when speaking to City TV in his post-match interview, explaining: “Yeah, important win and happy to be back.

“Of course it’s been a tough last few weeks but that’s life. You have to look forward, you have to keep going. And you have to stay positive because we can still manage to do things.

“We should have scored more goals and I think we should have finished the game. But this is what happens. In the end it’s a difficult game but we managed to win and that’s really important.”

Powering Guardiola’s side back into the top four and guaranteeing they avenged their previous two losses to Tottenham this season, all eyes will be on seeing if Haaland and Man City can carry on this momentum in their quest to secure Champions League football for next term.

With Haaland steering the ship in an attacking sense and Man City’s schedule nowhere near as hectic now, it’d take a brave man to bet against them achieving that objective to ensure they end the crusade on a high.