Haaland hits hat-trick to take Man City top, Son treble inspires Spurs
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City maintained their perfect Premier League start with a 5-1 thrashing of Fulham on Saturday, as Son Heung-min’s also netted three times in Tottenham’s 5-2 victory at Burnley. But Chelsea’s huge investment in the transfer market is still to reap reward as the Blues were beaten 1-0 at home by Nottingham Forest. In keeping with the early weeks of the season, City were good enough for the three points without ever hitting top gear. The English champions were without manager Pep Guardiola as he recovers from back surgery in his native Catalonia. The home side had not had a shot on target until Julian Alvarez turned home Haaland’s cross to open the scoring on 31 minutes. Fulham, who were missing influential midfielder Joao Palhinha after his deadline day move to Bayern Munich collapsed on Friday, responded immediately when Tim Ream tapped in from a corner. City needed a set-piece of their own to restore the lead in controversial circumstances. Nathan Ake’s header was allowed to stand despite Manuel Akanji, who was in an offside position, jumping over the ball. Haaland then exploded after the break.
