Manchester City defeated Manchester United’s rivalry 6-3 at the Etihad and closed the gap on Premier League leader Arsenal to one point. It was also Haaland’s third hat trick in as many home league games this season.
In the Manchester derby, Erling Haaland’s third hat-trick in the Premier League tied Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most trebles in the league.
Before Sunday’s game at the Etihad, the Norwegian had scored three goals against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. He was able to match the record against Manchester City’s regional rivals as his incredible streak continued.
Before completing his hat-trick with a goal on the 64-minute mark, Haaland scored twice in the opening period. Given that he has only appeared in eight games in the English top division, Haaland has equaled Ronaldo’s total of Premier League hat-tricks, demonstrating just how well he has adapted to life at the Etihad Stadium.
Ronaldo’s first triple was against Newcastle in January 2008. Returning to Old Trafford, he scored twice last season, the first against Tottenham and the second against Norwich. He was an unutilized replacement at the Etihad, but now he is on the United first team’s perimeter.
When Haaland joined City, he stated that he was really looking forward to the Manchester derby and provided feedback after attending the match for the first time. He said to Sky Sports: “Yes, not too awful! 6 goals were scored by us. What else can I say? It’s incredible. It’s good to win at home and score six goals. You constantly experience it. The passes we offer one another are visible. We constantly aspire to advance and engage in combat. I adore that about the group. It’s ultimately great. Nothing else has to be said.”
In his interview with BBC Sport, he further stated: “It might have been more, and in the second half we need to have been more disciplined and worked a little more because it was occasionally sloppy. We still have work to do because we lost the second half, which is not good.”
Haaland’s achievements occur at a time when Ronaldo is having difficulties and his future is uncertain. This season, the striker has made only one league start, a 4-0 loss against Brentford. He had substituted in a few of United’s prior Premier League contests, but at the Etihad he was not used.
Ronaldo’s lone goal this season came in the Europa League because Erik ten Hag made him take a squad position. Questions will be raised about United’s performance following a lacklustre showing that left them behind 4-0 at the interval until Anthony Martial’s two late goals made the final score appear more decent at 6-3.
Christian Eriksen discussed the loss and said: “It arrived really heftily. Everyone agrees that it was a terrible work day. We got off to the wrong start. They had opportunities as soon as the game began. Only we have ourselves to blame. We lacked the fortitude to play from the back and instead allowed them to utilise their strengths. We shall be the primary emphasis of this game. We have a lot of things that need changing and a lot of things that need improving. Today’s performance was a great cry from what we need to be accomplishing.”
