EPL

Manchester City 3-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Haaland double gets champions back on track

By Sports Desk October 22, 2022

Erling Haaland got back on the goal trail as his first-half double helped Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The Norwegian was kept quiet as City fell to their first defeat of the Premier League season at Liverpool last Sunday, but he bounced back in convincing fashion by putting the Seagulls to the sword.

Haaland was the beneficiary of an Ederson assist when he tapped into an empty net for his first, then rifled home a penalty to double up shortly before half-time.

Leandro Trossard dragged Brighton back into contention after the break, but Pep Guardiola's champions weathered the storm before Kevin De Bruyne made the points safe with a trademark long-range strike.

City toiled as Brighton kept things tight in the opening 20 minutes, but the hosts benefitted from a more direct approach when Haaland latched onto Ederson's lofted ball before shrugging off Aaron Webster to score the opener.

Lewis Dunk denied De Bruyne with a last-ditch block following a give-and-go with Jack Grealish 10 minutes later, but the Brighton defender was at fault when Haaland extended City's lead.

After a lengthy VAR review ruled Dunk had tripped Bernardo Silva in a crowded penalty area, Haaland blasted the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner, giving Robert Sanchez no chance.

However, Brighton needed just eight minutes to half the arrears after the break, as Trossard cut inside from the left before beating Ederson at his near post from 18 yards out, Solly March with the assist.

Trossard then forced Ederson into a reflex save as Brighton continued to push, but their efforts were undone when De Bruyne picked out the top-left corner with 15 minutes remaining, having been teed up by Silva. 

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    Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.

    Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.

    Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.

    Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.

    The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.

    Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.

    The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.

    She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.

    Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.

  • Belgium must be 'given time' to emulate Golden Generation, says Onana Belgium must be 'given time' to emulate Golden Generation, says Onana

    Amadou Onana is happy to accept leadership responsibilities for Belgium's upcoming Nations League fixtures, but called for patience with the Red Devils' current crop of players.

    Onana has become an integral part of Belgium's midfield since making his debut in June 2022, appearing a further 19 times, including at Euro 2024 earlier this year. 

    The 23-year-old has also impressed since his arrival at Villa Park from Everton in July, starting 12 of his 14 outings in all competitions for Unai Emery's side. 

    Onana has registered the most interceptions (16) for the Villans in the Premier League this season, while only Youri Tielemans has won more tackles (18) than the Belgian midfielder (15) in the top-flight. 

    But his importance has now transferred to the international stage, and with two must-win Nations League encounters on the horizon, Onana is happy to lead his side from the front. 

    "Many players see me as a leader and I have to show that on the pitch. That won't change," Onana said.  

    "The coach expects the same from me. I have a good understanding with him."

    Onana's influence on the national side has increased in recent months, as the Red Devils aim to emulate the 'Golden Generation' that impressed at major tournaments. 

    Kevin De Bruyne has taken over as the captain of the team but has since asked for time off from the national team due to managing his workload. 

    Domenico Tedesco, however, has recalled Romelu Lukaku to his latest squad, with the Napoli striker missing Belgium's opening four games of the Nations League. 

    Along with De Bruyne, Lukaku played a huge role in Belgium's rise on the international stage, becoming the nation's all-time record goalscorer in the process. 

    Belgium, however, fell at the round of 16 stage at Euro 2024 against France in another disappointing major tournament campaign, though Onana said supporters should give the new-looking side time to gel. 

    "We cannot be compared, it is a different era. We have to be given time to make our mark," said Onana. "Personally, I think there should be a bit more patience.

    "Everyone is talking about that golden generation, but success in 2018 was not created in 2018, but rather long before that, in 2010.

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    "I think you cannot compare these youngsters with the stars of that time. There are a lot of young boys coming in. That's good for Belgian football. We can be quite satisfied."

    Belgium know defeat to Italy on Thursday will end their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, with the Red Devils currently on four points in Group A2, five points behind second-placed France. 

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    Manchester City all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero thinks that the players need to be more like manager Pep Guardiola if they are to continue their golden era.

    Aguero's rallying cry came after City's fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions on Saturday, the first time Guardiola has gone this long without a victory in his career.

    The Citizens have lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006, when Stuart Pearce was manager of the club and are 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League. 

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    "I think City are favourites to win everything, including the league, the [FA] Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League," he told Sky Sports News.

    "Whatever City has to play for, they'll be the firm favourites. I think it all depends on the mentality they have because it's not easy to always be the favourites."

    Last season, City became the first team in history to win four consecutive Premier League titles but, with their form taking a dip and Guardiola out of contract at the end of the season, there is the potential for instability at the Etihad.

    But, according to Aguero, their manager is the key to their past and future success.

    That frame of mind is understandable, given that Guardiola is the most successful Manchester City manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies – 50% of the major honours in the club's history – with a win percentage of 72%.

    "I think City are where they are because Guardiola knows very well how to keep that mentality," Aguero said.

    "For me, he's the key man for the club so that the players have the same winning mentality.

    "Sometimes it gets difficult to win and it's normal, but Pep's team has been up there since he took charge, and that's something many people don't see.

    "I think we have to acknowledge he's the reason his players have a winning mentality. He's strict and he makes the team be consistent every single game throughout the season.

    "We should take our hats off because it's not easy to be there with the players every day, especially considering the players we're talking about.

    "All the time, he's like, 'come on, we have to keep winning!' Living that every day can get exhausting sooner or later, but he's been doing this for days, months, even years, and I think that's why City are one of the favourites because Pep never rests and he never gives a rest to his players.

    "That, for me, is the key to success for any team."

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