Erling Haaland’s Goal Poaching Abilities Have Put Manchester City At The Driver’s Seat For Treble

Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland scored his sixth hattrick for the season when Manchester City thrashed Burnley 6-0 in the FA Cup- which booked their spot in the semifinals of the competition for the fifth straight season. Pep’s team has scored 13 goals in the last 2 games- the previous one was a 7-0 drubbing of RB Leipzig in the UCL, where Haaland scored 5.

Against Burnley, Haaland scored 3, while Julien Alvarez scored twice, and Cole Palmer once to get in on the fun. This defeat would sting Burnley’s coach Vincent Kompany a lot- for this was the first time he had returned to the Etihad Stadium, after leaving the club. 

Erling Haaland Is Having The Season Of His Life- But The Best Is Yet To Come

Several pundits have already claimed that the way Erling Haaland is going through the Premier League is absolutely ridiculous- and belies explanation. His hattrick against Burnley- where he was substituted in the 64th minute, was probably one of his tamer ones. He has already scored 42 goals in his first season in an English club and has managed to hit the back of the net nine times in the last three games.

Lest someone forgets, the season is not yet over. What sets him apart from other finishers is his poaching abilities. For his third goal against Burnley, he was in the perfect position to slot in Foden’s rebound shot. While others would consider this a tap-in, it does show amazing spatial awareness. 

Before this week, Pep Guardiola had stated that the consecutive matches against Crystal Palace, RB Leipzig, and Burnley- over the course of eight days before the international break would be the defining moment of the season. And as it turns out, Erling Haaland did define how the season would look for the team in blue.