ISLAMABAD
\nFamed for being a tough league to adapt to, Erling Haaland is taking to the Premier League like a duck to water.
\nAfter scoring his first hat-trick for Manchester City at the weekend — in its 4-2 win over Crystal Palace — having joined from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland repeated the feat on Wednesday night.
\nIt took the Norwegian striker just 26 minutes between his first and third goal in the first half to complete the feat, as City romped to a 6-0 win over newly-promoted Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium.
\nIt means that Haaland has now scored a remarkable nine goals in his first five Premier League appearances, breaking the previous record of eight set by Mick Quinn and City\u2019s all-time top goalscorer, Sergio Ag\u00fcero.
\nAfterwards, Haaland hailed his teammates and the impact they\u2019ve had on his game, calling the team\u2019s performance \u201camazing.\u201d
\n\u201cIt was about keep doing what we did in the second half against Crystal Palace,\u201d he said.
\nHaaland scores against Nottingham Forest.
\n\u201cPlay, play, play and we knew we\u2019d get the chances and we did that. It was nice. It\u2019s been good so far, I\u2019m not complaining!
\n\u201cI try to listen as much as I can to Pep [Guardiola] and the boys. They\u2019re amazing footballers, without them, I can\u2019t score goals. It\u2019s about finding the chemistry and to listen to Guardiola.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic. That\u2019s why I came here. We play so good, we find each other, it\u2019s going to be nice.\u201d
\nAfter the game, manager Pep Guardiola was asked if Haaland could break Ag\u00fcero\u2019s club record of 260 goals.
\n\u201cSergio is the legend. Nobody can break the position in the hearts of City fans, scoring the most important goal in the modern history of the club,\u201d Guardiola said.
\n\u201cErling has the quality to be there. What Sergio has done is amazing. But Erling has this talent. Hopefully, he can enjoy and score more goals. Knowing him a little bit, I don\u2019t know if he\u2019d be happy breaking records if we didn\u2019t win titles.\u201d
\nHaaland celebrates with his teammates after scoring against Nottingham Forest.
\n\u2018This guy is special\u2019
\nBesides Haaland\u2019s ruthlessness in front of goal, the evening will be remembered for a breakout game for another City forward.
\nFollowing Haaland\u2019s quick-fire hat-trick and Jo\u00e3o Cancelo\u2019s first goal of the season, it became all about Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez\u2019s coming out party.
\nThe Argentine forward, making his first Premier League start since joining from River Plate, scored twice against Forest; first, rifling low under goalkeeper Dean Henderson and then smashing home his second in the final few minutes.
\nAfter the game, Guardiola was full of praise for his two new additions up front, calling \u00c1lvarez \u201cspecial.\u201d
\n\u201cI had the feeling that there is not one person in the locker room who is not happy for the two goals (he scored). Erling is highlighted, Erling deserves everything,\u201d Guardiola explained.
\n\u201cBut, from day one, we have seen Juli\u00e1n in the locker room and training. We have an incredible opinion (of him). Our scout in South America — Joan Patsy — told me for a year and a half ago – this guy is special. He has scored a lot of goals in a team like River Plate that have an incredible pressure to win.
\n\u00c1lvarez celebrates after scoring City\u2019s sixth goal against Forest.
\n\u201cHe was educated by Gallardo and now we are enjoying him. Erling is our first No. 9, but in games where teams defend deep, to have the two guys there with an incredible smell to score goals is so important. Juli\u00e1n deserves everything. The work ethic always pays off.
\n\u201cJuli\u00e1n came from Argentina, but in the first game against Club America, I said this guy will be good for us. We have seen in training how he is doing. In the first half (today), he struggled; the second half was better, and you saw the goals.
\n\u201cHe is so precise. Both he and Erling are incredible strikers. When the ball is around the area, they are incredible finishers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Famed for being a tough league to adapt to, Erling Haaland is taking to the Premier League like a duck to water. After scoring his first hat-trick for Manchester City at the weekend — in its 4-2 win over Crystal Palace — having joined from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland repeated the feat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n