MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s Erling Haaland kept up his torrid scoring pace with two goals in five second-half minutes on Saturday to lift City provisionally top of the table with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Everton.
Pep Guardiola’s men have 16 points after eight games, before Arsenal and Liverpool, now second and third respectively, play their games this weekend. Everton dropped to 10th on 11 points.
The 25-year-old Haaland — who scored in an 11th consecutive game for club and country for a season total of 23 goals — broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when he leapt to head home Nico O’Reilly’s cross from the left.
The Norwegian doubled City’s lead five minutes later when he latched onto Savinho’s cross and struck a blistering left-foot shot from the middle of the box that was slightly deflected by Everton’s James Tarkowski past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Haaland was hungry to complete a hat-trick, with three brilliant chances in the dying minutes, with Pickford racing out to save two of them with his legs. Haaland took the ball around Pickford on the third, but his looping shot from an impossibly tight angle dropped wide of the net.
Haaland shook his head in frustration, while the crowd chanted “Haaland! Haaland!” for his efforts.
City’s Phil Foden hailed Haaland for breaking the deadlock, calling the moment “very important.”
“We know he’s got that quality to time his runs to perfection and be in the right position. If they mark him out of the game he is still capable of scoring and we know he only needs one chance to score.
“He remained very patient, there wasn’t a lot of space for him today. And as you can see he is always there for us at the right times, that is the sign of a world class striker.”
There was no emotional homecoming for Everton winger Jack Grealish, who was ineligible to face his parent club. A TV camera showed Grealish at the game, but the absence of the league’s joint assist leader was a gaping hole for David Moyes’ team.
City, who thoroughly dominated in the second half, had 19 shots to Everton’s five, and seven on target to the visitors’ one.
Everton squandered a handful of chances. Early in the game Iliman Ndiaye raced down the right side before sending a cross to Beto who slid to just get his foot on the ball but poked it wide.
City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped a long shot from Ndiaye over the bar later in the first half.
Haaland leads Man City to win over Everton with second-half double
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Haaland leads Man City to win over Everton with second-half double
- The 25-year-old Haaland broke the deadlock in the 58th minute
- The Norwegian doubled City’s lead five minutes later
Desert Vipers hold nerve to edge Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in ILT20 thriller
- Key contributions from Shimron Hetmyer and Khuzaima Tanveer prove decisive as the Vipers weather tense finish to overhaul target of 171
- Knight Riders start well, reaching 87 in 10 overs, but momentum shifts in second half of their inning as the Vipers’ spinners struck back
SHARJAH: Desert Vipers made it two wins out of two in the DP World International League T20, as they held their nerve to secure a dramatic two-wicket victory over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Shimron Hetmyer’s counterattacking 48 off 25 balls, and a late-order cameo from Khuzaima Tanveer, who hit 31 off just 12 deliveries, proved decisive as the Vipers weathered a tense finish to overhaul a target of 171.
Sent in to bat, the Knight Riders made a confident start through Phil Salt and Alex Hales, with the latter anchoring the inning to top-score with 53 off 37 balls.
Despite reaching 87 in 10 overs, however, the momentum shifted in the second half of the inning as the Vipers’ spinners began to strike regularly. Qais Ahmad and Noor Ahmad led the middle-overs fightback, dismissing Hales and triggering a collapse as the Knight Riders lost five wickets.
Andre Russell’s unbeaten 36, and useful contributions from Alishan Sharafu and Unmukt Chand, at least helped Abu Dhabi reach a competitive total, but they were unable to fully capitalize on the side’s strong opening.
The Vipers began explosively in reply, smashing a tournament-record 19 runs from the first over. However, early wickets then left them wobbling on 44/3. Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence rebuilt the attack before the latter combined with Hetmyer for a crucial 68-run stand that swung the contest back in the their favor.
Late strikes from Ajay Kumar and Russell, the latter dismissing Hetmyer for his 500th T20 wicket, set up a tense finish, but Tanveer delivered under pressure. Needing eight runs off the final over, he sealed victory with a six and a boundary.
“It was, in many ways, a fortunate escape but an outstanding result for us,” said Curran, the Vipers’ stand-in captain.
“ADKR possess a very powerful batting lineup, and I believe our bowlers performed exceptionally well throughout the innings. The dismissals of Hetmyer and Dan introduced an unexpected twist but the team showed commendable composure in the crucial moments.”
Knight Riders’ stand-in skipper Sunil Narine felt his side had been lacking with the bat: “We were 15-20 runs short. We began well in the powerplay and that phase was crucial for us.
“The conditions eventually worked in their favor and the dew made it challenging for our spinners. But at the end of the day that’s part of the game.”
The result leaves the Vipers well placed at this early stage of the tournament, while the Knight Riders were left to reflect on missed opportunities after such a strong start.
