♦ Man City returned to the top of the Premier League after thrashing Luton 5-1
♦ City striker Erling Haaland scored his 20th goal of the season on Saturday
♦ IAN LADYMAN and CHRIS SUTTON have their say on the Premier League’s Player of the Year – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
This comes with all the usual caveats. Yes, he only scored a penalty. Yes, it was only Luton. Yes, his ‘assist’ for the early own goal was a shot that, bar the cruel deflection off the defender, was en route to the corner flag.
Yet for all the mutterings about Erling Haaland’s faulty wiring, this was as involved as the Man City striker has been in this so-called barren spell.
His 10 touches in the box are the most in a PL game since February and in only six in his City career has he had more.
His Expected Goals (xG) tally of 1.8 was also his sixth-highest.
He’d scored in only three of his previous 11 PL games but Haaland’s now bagged in his last two and — shock — is the first to reach 20 goals this season.
Man City striker Erling Haaland scored his 20th goal of the season against Luton
Haaland is just the third player to score 20 goals in each of his first two PL seasons after Andrew Cole (1993-94, ‘94-95) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (first 3 from 2001-02 to ‘03-04).