Erling Haaland scored his fourth Manchester City hat-trick and took his tally for the season to 31 in all competitions as relegation-threatened Wolves were brushed aside by Pep Guardiola’s men.
By their incredibly high standards, Holland was going through a barren spell.
But after snapping a three-game drought against Tottenham on Thursday, Norway demolished Wolves in a 12-minute spell either side of half-time.
Holland headed home Kevin De Bruyne’s cross early to put the hosts ahead at the break.
He headed home a penalty after Alke Gundogan was fouled by Wolves captain Ruben Neves, before his third went straight to Riyad Mahrez after Jose Sa’s pass from the six-yard box.
Holland has now scored 25 goals in City’s first 20 Premier League games. That’s five more than Luis Suarez had in 2013-14, the previous highest tally at this stage this season.
The Norwegian striker’s current total of 30 campaigns since the English top flight was renamed in 1992 would have been enough to secure the Golden Boot in more than half.
He has already scored the same number of Premier League hat-tricks as Mo Salah, and a third of Sergio Aguero’s record 12, which the Argentine achieved in his glorious decade with City.
Only Alan Shearer has scored more Premier League hat-tricks in a single season with five.
Holland driving city on
When Guardiola came out with his unusual grudge following the win against Tottenham, he spoke about the difficulty of maintaining drive and determination when you’re used to winning.
So Holland is very important for this team.
Norway’s last league title was in Austria three years ago. His last trophy was the German Cup in 2021 with Borussia Dortmund.
If the prospect of a fifth championship in six seasons fails to inspire some City players, Holland is not among them, and his thirst for goals as the second half of the season unfolds speaks for itself. The element can be
Guardiola saw no point in pushing the striker, and replaced him with World Cup winner Julian Alvarez after an hour.
More good news for City is that Jack Grealish is also looking for more consistency.
His teasing forays down the left are more reminiscent of his Aston Villa days and would have scored in the first half had Sa not made a brilliant save and Nathan Collins in the right place at the right time. . line
Mahrez had an effort ruled out for offside, after which City cruised home and Holland finally earned the applause of the home fans.
Lopetegui’s Wolves stall
It was the first major blow for Julen Lopetegui since he replaced Bruno Legge as Wolves boss during the World Cup.
If there is any relief for the former Spain and Real Madrid coach, it comes from the knowledge that there are no tougher tests ahead, even if his side only stay out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
The £3.3m arrival of Craig Dawson from West Ham will help a struggling defence, while a first start here for Mario Lemina, plus a debut for Pablo Sarabia, further builds a squad for Lopetegui to work with. Could – especially if his second transfer window target, Flamengo’s Joao Gomez, can be kept away from Lyon’s clutches.
He clearly wants more width from Wolves’ passing side, although he has a week to work on it, with his side missing next weekend’s FA Cup fourth round.
February will then be a crucial month, with Wolves facing two sides below them, Southampton and Bournemouth, in consecutive weeks.
Certainly no one can accuse Lopetegui of not investing in his job. He was booked for arguing with Neves over an incident when City’s Rico Lewis appeared to bring down Hwang Hee-chan, after the South Korean longed towards the City goal before Holland changed the direction of the match. He was about to run.
