Erling Haaland scores four as Man City dispatch Wolves to keep pace with Arsenal

Manchester City closed the gap on leaders Arsenal down to just one point with a dominant 5-1 win over Wolves on Saturday.

Wolves were unable to deal with an imperious performance by Erling Haaland, as he ran riot against their defence, and scored four goals.

Haaland opened the scoring with an early penalty after Rayan Ait-Nouri collided with Joskvo Gvardiol in the box. The Norwegian soon doubled City’s lead with a strong header across goal, having leapt high into the air to meet a dinked Rodri cross.

Haaland was then brought down himself by Nelson Semedo to earn a second penalty, which he powerfully dispatched past Jose Sa to complete an impressive first-half hat-trick.

Wolves responded after the break courtesy of Hwang Hee-chan. The Korean tapped in from close range after Ederson made a mess of parrying Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross.

Fortunately for City’s keeper, Haaland smashed in his fourth goal, taking him five clear of Cole Palmer and Alexander Isak in the Golden Boot contest, just 24 seconds after the restart to dispel any lingering Wolves hopes.

Julian Alvarez replaced Haaland in the final minutes for his 100th City appearance and rounded off the scoring just minutes later.

City are just three wins away from clinching their fourth consecutive Premier League title. They travel to Fulham and then Tottenham, knowing two wins will put them two points ahead of Arsenal going into the final day.

Meanwhile, Wolves remain in 11th position. They host Crystal Palace on Saturday, with Gary O’Neil returning to the dugout after today’s touchline suspension.