Haaland is twice as good

Erling Haaland scored for the first time since November as the Manchester City strikerrsquos double fired the champions to the top of the Premier League with a gritty 20 win against Everton on SaturdayPep Guardiolarsquos side were well below their best as they laboured to break down stubborn Everton at a nervous Etihad StadiumFoot injury a thing of the pastBut Haaland struck twice late in the second half to get back on the scoresheet for the first time since returning from an absence of nearly two months due to a foot injuryThey were the Norway starrsquos first Premier League goals since he netted against Liverpool on November 25 and his first in five games in all competitions since he scored against Leipzig in the Champions League on November 28City are back on top of the table for the first time since November 24 but Liverpool who are one point behind in second place will return to the summit if they beat lowly Burnley at Anfield later on Saturday Guardiolarsquos men have won their last 10 games in all competitions but the Spaniard might be a little concerned with the labourious way they took to the task against struggling EvertonAlso Read Erling Haaland has stress not fracture Guardiola clarifiesCity unbeaten in 22 gamesCity are unbeaten in their last 22 league games at the Etihad but third bottom Everton didnrsquot make it easy for them Evertonrsquos havenrsquot beaten City since 2017 but Guardiola had painful memories of a 11 draw against the Merseysiders last season and had urged his players not to let their guard downCity monopolised over 80 percent of the possession in the first half an hour finding it impossible to prise open Evertonrsquos massed defence Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden had shots blocked as Everton threw themselves into tackles with abandonHaaland stretched to head over from Jeremy Dokursquos cross when Foden was lurking in a more dangerous position behind the strikerGuardiola cut an anxious figure on the touchline constantly gesticulating towards his players in a bid to get them to pass quicker and with more precision Everton rsquokeeper Jordan Pickford raced off his line to beat Matheus Nunes to the ball right on the edge of the areaVAR worry for hostsThere was a warning for City when Jack Harrison blasted over from Ashley Youngrsquos cross When the ball dropped kindly for Manuel Akanji inside the Everton area the City defender looked certain to break the deadlock but James Tarkowski made a lastditch block as VAR ignored the hostsrsquo appeals for handball It was the first time City had failed to have a shot on target in the first half of a home league game since August 2022This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever