Who'll stop Haaland?

Erling Haaland guided Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Leeds at Elland Road with a brace to take his goal tally of the season to 20 goals.

Both teams were met with a sweltering atmosphere, and the away supporters almost raised the volume up a notch when Haaland had his shot stopped by Illan Meslier after only 40 seconds. Kevin De Bruyne and lkay Gündogan then missed long range attempts as the guests positioned themselves in the host's half.

As the game went on, City began to enjoy themselves even more in the 18-yard box, but Meslier again denied Haaland, and Jack Grealish missed two wonderful opportunities by shooting over the crossbar. However, a goal was unavoidable, and a series of attempts paid off in stoppage time when Rodri completed a magnificent attack by sliding in from close range.

Once ahead, there was no looking back for Pep Guardiola’s side, who doubled their lead shortly after HT when Haaland tapped into an empty net from Grealish’s pass. The pair linked up again just after the hour mark to make it 3-0, playing a quick one-two in the area before the Norwegian - watched from the stands by his dad Alfie, who played for both clubs during his career - slotted into the bottom corner.

Surprisingly, Leeds scored a goal back on the 73rd minute when Pascal Struijk nodded in from the edge of the penalty area. After Haaland missed the opportunity to score a hat-trick with time running down, the hosts threatened to put up a thrilling conclusion as Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood each missed opportunities to further cut the lead.

There would be no comeback, however, as United lost for the sixth time in their previous eight games, keeping them only two points above the drop zone, while City moved back above Newcastle to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal to five points.