In an English club football friendly on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 4-2 behind the goals of Erling Haaland’s hat trick, which included two goals in the opening five minutes.
In an English club football friendly on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 4-2 behind the goals of Erling Haaland‘s hat trick, which included two goals in the opening five minutes. As part of their US preseason tour, reigning Premier League champion City dominated the match, scoring goals 54 seconds apart in the first half and 71 seconds apart in the second. Wearing the captain’s armband, Haaland demonstrated to the 71,280 spectators why he is regarded as one of the top players in the world.
The 24-year-old Norwegian forward opened the score in the fourth minute with a penalty kick and, only 17 seconds after the restart, in the fifth minute, with a right-footed effort into the right corner for a 2-0 City lead following a giveaway by Moises Caicedo in the Chelsea half.
In the 55th minute, Oscar Bobb extended the advantage to three when he took the ball down the right flank, cut inside, and scored with his left foot, beating a defender and going just inside the near post.
In only 25 seconds after the restart, Erling scored a 4-0 City lead with a left-footed flick after receiving a ball between two defenders at the top of the box.
It was too little, too late as Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling responded in the 59th and Noni Madueke scored the winning goal in the 89th.
For both clubs, the match served as a sneak peek into the beginning of the 2024–25 Premier League season. On August 18, Manchester City will play Chelsea in the season’s opening match.
Liverpool beats Man Utd
In front of 77,559 fans in Columbia, South Carolina, Liverpool defeated Manchester United 3-0 in a preseason matchup between two more English powerhouses.
Liverpool’s first goal came from 21-year-old Portuguese striker Fabio Carvalho in the tenth minute.
Egyptian forward Mo Saleh beat the defense in the 36th minute, setting up an ideal centering ball for Curtis Jones, who came charging in and scored with his left foot to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead.
Greek star Kostas Tsimikas scored a rebound off the left post in the 61st minute to give the Merseysiders a 3-0 lead.
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