Erling Haaland Wednesday night found the back of the net twice for Manchester City as they trash Copenhagen 5-0 to make it three wins out of three in the UEFA Champions League Group G.
Haaland was unable to finish off what would have been a fourth hat-trick for City after being taken off at half-time but his first-half double means he now has 19 goals in his first 12 games for Pep Guardiola’s side.
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With or without him, City were far too quick and clever for their Danish opponents and would have ended up with more than five goals from a totally one-sided match if not for Copenhagen keeper Kamil Grabara.
Fresh from crushing neighbours Manchester United at the weekend, City and Haaland picked up where they left off on Sunday and took less than seven minutes to open their account.
Cancelo’s low cross found Haaland in space inside the area and, predictably, he made no mistake with a powerful finish from what was his first touch of the game.
The only surprise was that it took until after the half-hour mark for City to extend their lead and, predictably, it was Haaland who was in the right place to tap the loose ball after Grabara had parried a Sergio Gomez shot.
The last thing Copenhagen needed at this stage was bad luck but their misery was compounded before half-time when a Gomez shot took a double deflection off Denis Vavro and then David Khocholava on its way into the net.
With victory secured, Haaland was replaced by Cole Palmer at half-time – even goal machines need a rest – as City cast an eye towards their next game, against Southampton here on Saturday.
His exit reduced City’s threat but they still dominated possession and further goals followed.
Riyad Mahrez made it 4-0 from the penalty spot after Aymeric Laporte was fouled, then the Algeria forward turned provider to set up Julian Alvarez to round off the scoring from close range.
BBC Sport
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