LONDON (AP) — At the rate Erling Haaland is scoring, keeping up with Manchester City is going to be a difficult task in the English Premier League.
So while it’s still only three games into the season, it felt significant when title rival Arsenal dropped points on Saturday and then saw City take full advantage thanks to another hat trick from Haaland.
The Norway striker netted his second treble in two games as City beat West Ham 3-1 to maintain its perfect start and move two points ahead of Arsenal, which was held 1-1 by Brighton after Declan Rice was sent off early in the second half.
“No words for him,” City manager Pep Guardiola said about Haaland, who has seven goals in three games to start the season and 70 in total in the 69 league games he has played for the club.
With eight Premier League hat tricks, Haaland has as many as Thierry Henry (258 games), Harry Kane (320) and Michael Owen (326) managed in their careers.
This was his first away from Etihad Stadium, though, and showed his wide range of finishing skills.
The opener came when he ran onto a pass from Bernarndo Silva and beat goalkeeper Alphonse Areola with a low shot. After an own goal from Ruben Dias, Haaland made it 2-1 when he received a pass inside the area and hit a thumping strike into the roof of the net in the 30th minute. The hat trick was complete in the 83rd when he went clear through on goal and lifted the ball past Lukasz Fabianski, who replaced Areola at halftime.
“I really liked the second goal, I have to be honest,” Haaland said. “The second one was lovely. … I like to shoot a bit hard sometimes, as well. Not only easy shots. So it’s good to get a little bit of power out of my body.”
While there’s another 35 games left, Haaland’s prolific form makes any small gap to City look tough to overcome.
So perhaps it’s no wonder Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was so frustrated after what he felt was a decisive refereeing decision.
In the early kickoff, Arsenal was 1-0 up at Emirates Stadium and looked in control when Rice was shown a second yellow card in the 49th minute, apparently for nudging the ball to the side as Joel Veltman tried to take a quick free kick near the sideline deep in Brighton’s half.
Veltman kicked Rice from behind in the process and the home crowd was screaming for the Brighton player to get sanctioned, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to show Rice a red card instead.
“I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed, because of how inconsistent decisions can be,” Arteta said, arguing that similar offenses went unpunished earlier in the game. “It was a really, really hard one to take.”
That decision turned the game completely and Joao Pedro equalized from a rebound in the 58th after David Raya saved a shot from Yankuba Minteh.
Kai Havertz put Arsenal ahead in the 38th with a lob over goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and had a chance to restore Arsenal’s lead when he ran through on goal again in the 74th but his low shot was saved that time.
Last-placed Everton could only lament its own inconsistencies — and inability to defend crosses — after giving up a 2-0 lead in the final minutes to lose 3-2 at home against Bournemouth, while Brentford showed again that it can cope just fine without Ivan Toney by beating Southampton 3-1.
Everton and Southampton were without a point at the bottom of the table, while Arsenal and Brighton saw their perfect starts to the league come to an end.
Liverpool also has six points from two games and plays at Manchester United on Sunday.
Everton collapse
A bad start to Everton’s last season at Goodison Park got worse on Saturday, with frustrated home fans flooding out of the stadium at the final whistle.
Everton looked set to earn its first points of the season after Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave it a 2-0 lead that stood until the 87th minute. But as soon as Antoine Semenyo pulled one back, nerves seemed to set in among the Everton players and home fans, and Lewis Cook took advantage by heading home an equalizer in the second minute of injury time.
With Goodison Park shell-shocked, Bournemouth kept pouring forward and found a winner in similar fashion, as Luis Sinisterra was left unmarked to head home another cross at the far post three minutes later.
“Just threw the game away,” Everton manager Sean Dyche said. “We were in control, complete control.”
Bournemouth moved to five points after opening the season with two draws.
Toney watches as Mbuemo shines
Toney was on hand to watch Brentford from the stands after completing a deadline-day move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli on Friday, and watched as Bryan Mbuemo took up his role as goalscorer instead.
Mbuemo netted the first two goals and Yoanne Wissa added the third to make it a frustrating Southampton debut for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsey, who joined from Arsenal this week. Southampton did score its first goal of the season, though, as Yukinari Sugawara netted a late consolation in injury time.
Also, Aston Villa hung on for a 2-1 win at Leicester, promoted Ipswich earned its first point with a 1-1 draw against Fulham, and Nottingham Forest also drew at home against Wolves 1-1. ___
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