Erling Haaland scores a hat-trick to lead Man City to 3-0 win over Wolves

Football

Published: 23 Jan. 2023, 09:29

Erling Haaland scores a hat-trick to lead Man City to 3-0 win over Wolves

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, left, hugs Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan after a Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to lead Manchester City to a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday as the visiting midlands club struggled to make an impact against the Premier League's No. 2 side.

Haaland's hat-trick — with goals in the 40th, 50th and 54th minutes — takes the Norwegian to 25 Premier League goals already this season with just 19 games played.

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, right, scores his side's second goal during a Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

It also made for a somewhat bittersweet reunion with former teammate Hwang Hee-chan, who started but quickly found himself on the losing end of the scoreline.

Hwang and Haaland were two of the three stars of Jessy Marsch's double-winning Red Bull Salzburg squad in 2019, alongside Takumi Minamino of Monaco. Having enjoyed some of the earliest success of both of their club careers together, the trio was quickly separated although reportedly still remain friends.

Hwang started in the loss against Manchester City, but was substituted for Jaoa Moutinho at half time. It was a fairly lackluster performance from the Korean international, who seemed to struggle to get himself into the game.

With the loss, Wolves remain in 17th place in the Premier League, just outside of relegation but still well within the danger zone. The midlands club has scored just 12 goals so far this season — less than half as many as Haaland alone — in 20 games. The last four teams to find themselves with so few goals at this stage of the campaign were relegated.

After the break Wolves face yet another tough challenge as they take on Liverpool on Saturday, Feb. 4.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]