What a second half from the champions. After 45 minutes they were staring down the barrel as Palace led 2-0, but Bernardo Silva halved the deficit before Erling Haaland, not for the first or last time this season, took centre stage. The Norwegian scored his first Etihad goal and went on to complete a fine hat-trick to show everyone just what he can offer Pep Guardiola’s machine.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is just the fourth player to score six or more goals in his first four Premier League appearances and the first to do so since Diego Costa managed seven in 2014. Mick Quinn and one of Haaland’s Man City predecessors Sergio Aguero also got six.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City got off to the worst possible start at the Etihad Stadium, falling behind in the fourth minute when Eberechi Eze’s free-kick deflected off Stones’ knee and beyond Ederson.
There was an element of misfortune about the opener, with Stones caught unawares as the cross flicked off both Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker before bouncing into his leg, but the same could not be said as Palace doubled their lead in emphatic fashion in the 21st minute.
Eze was again the architect, delivering an inviting cross from a corner, with Andersen rising highest to power a header into the bottom left corner.
Despite enjoying 75% possession in the first half, the hosts failed to register a shot on target, but that all changed in the second 45 minutes when Palace were forced to defend for long periods.
The fightback was instigated by the impressive Bernardo, who drove inside Tyrick Mitchell and beat Vicente Guaita with a low strike that deflected off Jeffrey Schlupp.
Haaland opened his account nine minutes later, nodding in the leveller from Phil Foden’s pinpoint delivery and the 22-year-old quickly doubled his tally when he tapped in at the far post to finish off a well-worked corner routine that put Guardiola’s side in front.
From there, there only looked like being one winner and Haaland made sure of the three points with the most impressive of his three goals, collecting Ilkay Gundogan’s precise through ball and holding off the attentions of Joel Ward before calmly slotting into the bottom left corner to complete a thrilling turnaround.
Manchester City hat-trick hero Erling Haaland said “Really good feeling. A proud moment for me and my family. We keep going. These games are why I’m here – to turn things around when there are difficult times. In the end it was about small adjustments. We were almost there sometimes in the first half so it was about getting it done. This is what we do. It’s a good feeling. It’s really important to have this kind of mentality”
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