Watch: Haaland fires 4 goals to keep Man City in control of title hunt

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Erling Haaland’s emphatic four-goal haul in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers lifted Manchester City one point behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with a game in hand on their rivals.

Any risk of a setback in City’s title chase was quickly brushed aside by Haaland’s first-half hat-on trick. He converted penalties either side of his huge leap to plant an impeccable header past Jose Sa.

Hwang Hee-chan scored for Wolves after Ederson failed to get his hand to a cross, but the away fans’ joy was short-lived. Around 59 seconds later, Haaland latched onto a long ball, wriggled free of Max Kilman, and rifled home an unstoppable finish for his fourth goal.

Across 63 Premier League matches, Haaland has notched three or more goals on six occasions. The Norwegian marksman’s hat-trick total is greater than those recorded by Andy Cole, Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Dimitar Berbatov.

“Erling is back to business,” Guardiola said post-match. “Penalties are a guarantee but the second and fourth goals were unbelievable.”

Substitute Julian Alvarez celebrated his 100th appearance for Manchester City when he slid the ball into the bottom corner in the 85th minute to make it 5-1.

Arsenal finish their campaign with matches against Manchester United (away) and Everton (home). Manchester City take on Fulham (away), Tottenham Hotspur (away), and West Ham United (home) to conclude their Premier League season.

“One week, three games,” Guardiola noted. “Nine points, we will be champions, six or seven points, Arsenal will be champions.”