Crystal Palace, at half-time, looked destined to extend their points haul at the Etihad over the past five seasons to 10. Two goals down and having not had a shot on target, Patrick Vieira looked set to pull off the same trick as last time. year. But 39 minutes later, Pep Guardiola was aggressively pounding Haaland’s chest after allowing his striker to give a standing ovation. Erling Haaland scored his first Manchester City hat-trick to inspire a 4-2 win over Crystal Palace. He had his hat-trick and deserved the reception with the match. Three goals from 18 touches, for those who want to count. A force of nature, Haaland can do that to anyone, as many others will discover. The match balls will roll and it will change bigger games than this. However, this particular challenge is exactly why City paid £51million for him this summer. For the awkward afternoons that are average, against stubborn opposition that have their noses in front. “These games are why I’m here, to turn things around when there are tough times,” Haaland said. In recent days – and last October’s 2-0 home defeat by Palace is a perfect example – Guardiola could only watch at his feet as they resorted to crosses into the box, his usually charming midfielders running out of ideas . They didn’t have anyone consistently scoring scattered goals in miserable matches. The champions came from two goals down to win thanks to his superb second-half display Haaland’s first, a header from Phil Foden’s cross into a good area for a scorer to pounce on, gave clear evidence that this was what City had been missing. No one would have stood at this point last season. Even if they were, no one would have controlled his course to react to different phases of the game like Haaland did, creating his angles to produce header power. Guardiola knows this, of course, which is why City have spent the last two years trying to sign Sergio Aguero’s replacement. Running with false nines or midfielders up front was not an option. “We are completely in love with him,” Guardiola said. “It’s not just the goals, it’s how happy he is. I see his behavior and his body language. He’s always right.” He looks like a boy wonder in Haaland’s celebrations, running to all corners of the ground with mad excitement. That’s six Premier League goals in four appearances now, one every 54 minutes. His third, which bulldozed Joel Ward before expertly hanging in the corner when in full flight, was a Haaland trademark. Pep Guardiola’s side are second in the league behind Arsenal after three wins and a draw City, however, believe there is much more to come. They want him to be a bit more involved in the game, although that requires more cohesion as a team. “We understand that people question him sometimes, but we know who he is and what he came from,” said Rodri. He needs three touches to score a goal, he is an incredible player. “He still has to adjust. It’s difficult in this position because we’re used to playing with a false nine that moves a lot and now we have him as a benchmark that doesn’t move a lot. “His natural talent makes the difference, but he needs to do better at being part of the game — when to come, when to drop, when to go into space. Targeting City’s new £51m star has become a top priority for Manchester City’s playmakers “It’s normal, we’ve only been together a month and hopefully the rest of the season will improve.” Rodri is now part of the club’s leading five-man group and there will be words at half-time as City conceded more goals from set-pieces in the first half than they did all of last season. This was also the fourth time in six games that they have been two goals down. “We were lucky, but tomorrow we might not be lucky and we will drop points,” Guardiola said. But here comes another exciting comeback from a team so often branded too mechanical, too boring to really admire. He has already scored six goals in the Premier League, topping the division’s scoring charts Honorable mentions go to lively substitute Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva, whose missed goal led to the upset. Shifted to the right, Silva’s mad runs opened up a tiring Palace. For City, good job Barcelona didn’t collect the money. “What surprises me about Bernardo is that when the game goes wrong, he takes a step forward, he likes to play in that situation,” Guardiola added. “They’re comfortable with it. “Some players can take a step back and he takes a step forward. That is why he is irreplaceable in many ways for us.’
