11/02/25 06:12:00
Printable Page
11/02 18:11 CST Haaland double powers Man City to win after Donnarumma mistake
Haaland double powers Man City to win after Donnarumma mistake
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
Erling Haaland's latest double covered over a bad mistake from Gianluigi
Donnarumma in Manchester City's 3-1 win over Bournemouth that lifted the team
into second place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Haaland moved onto 13 goals for the campaign --- more than twice any other
player --- by running clear from passes by the impressive Rayan Cherki to
finish one-on-one chances in the 17th and 33rd minutes. Haaland pulled out a
robot celebration after the first goal.
Between those goals, Bournemouth equalized after Donnarumma attempted to punch
clear an inswinging corner, only to misjudge it and pat the ball down in front
of him. U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams swept home the loose ball for his first
Premier League goal and Donnarumma was booked for complaining too stridently
that he had been fouled.
That mistake will only be a footnote in the latest Haaland show, with the
Norway striker making it 26 goals in 16 games for club and country this season.
He has scored two goals in each of his last four home appearances in the
Premier League.
"I try to help the team to win, that's my goal," Haaland said. "By scoring or
helping by winning duels, doesn't matter, as long as we win."
Locally born left back Nico O'Reilly drove home the third goal in the 60th
minute for City, which replaced Bournemouth in second to become the nearest
challenger to Arsenal.
Arsenal, seeking a first league title since 2004, beat Burnley 2-0 on Saturday
and now holds a six-point lead after 10 games.
Guardiola defends Donnarumma
While Donnarumma has impressed with his shot-stopping since joining from Paris
Saint-Germain, a weakness in the Italy international's game might be his
punching from crosses.
In September, Donnarumma punched the ball into his own net when playing for
Italy against Israel but that goal was ruled out after it was deemed an
opposition player was fouling him.
On Sunday, Bournemouth captain David Brooks initially had a hold of
Donnarumma's left arm but let go before the goalkeeper attempted his punch.
City manager Pep Guardiola said it was "unbelievable" that the goal was allowed
to stand.
"There are sometimes things that are difficult to understand why it was not
disallowed," he said.
Long wait over
West Ham's fans had been waiting eight months for a home win in the Premier
League.
They finally got it after their embattled team rallied to beat Newcastle 3-1
for just a second victory this season.
Jacob Murphy's fourth-minute opener for Newcastle, which came seconds after
Jarrod Bowen struck the post at the other end, failed to spark what proved to
be a sluggish performance by the visitors.
Instead, West Ham grew more into the game and after Lucas Paqueta equalized in
the 35th minute with a long-range shot that crept inside the near post,
Newcastle defender Sven Botman stretched to block a cross but only succeeded in
turning the ball into his own net in first-half stoppage time.
Substitute Tomas Soucek added a third for West Ham in second-half stoppage time.
West Ham's last home win was against Leicester on Feb. 27.
The team stayed in the relegation zone but climbed above Nottingham Forest into
third-to-last place. Forest was the only team West Ham had previously beaten
this season.
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo had collected just one point from his
first four games in charge after replacing Graham Potter.
___
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|