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Erling Haaland hailed a “fantastic team performance” which saw Manchester City overcome a “horrendous” start to beat Chelsea 3-1 tonight.
Haaland played a big part with a goal and an assist as City struck after an early strike from debutant Abdukodir Khusanov.
The Uzbekistan centre-half, a £33.8m signing from Lens this week, failed to deal with a long point forward and, after letting it bounce, could only nod the ball into the path of Nicolas Jackson, who was set up by Nonieke to tap home.
Josko Gvardiol equalized towards the end of the first half before goals from Haaland and Phil Foden sealed a victory that moved Pep Guardiola’s men back up to fourth in the table.
W! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wqcb8vbu5j
– Manchester City (@Mancity) January 25, 2025
Haaland told the BBC’s Match of the Day: “I think it was a great performance, even though we started out awful. It was a fantastic team performance and I’m really happy.
“When we started like we did, it’s tough, but we played really well and just kept going and kept going. We kept pushing and the second half was the same. In the end, it’s what we have to do. We need to block him in the back and keep attacking.
“It’s just that at the beginning it’s almost like you start with -1. That can happen, but it’s about moving on. It’s about that and trying to keep peace of mind. That’s what matters.”
Haaland and Ederson combine to great effect
Haaland’s goal came after a long lead from goalkeeper Ederson with the Norway striker holding off Trevoh Chalobah’s challenge before curling a shot past Robert Sanchez.
“It’s something we practice,” Haaland added. “We try to focus on giving space and Ederson already gave me a lot of assists. It is about perfect timing because he is so precise”.
Khusanov’s nightmare performance contrasted with that of Omar Marmoush, who looked lively in his first appearance since joining Eintracht Frankfurt.
Haaland said: “I have seen him in the Bundesliga. It will be great to play with him. You can see that he has something special. I am looking forward to playing with him and it will be a very good time.”
Guardiola chatted with an important victory
Guardiola was delighted with the way his players responded to their first setback, which came just three days after they squandered 2-0 down to lose 4-2 at Paris Saint-Germain, a result which means they must beat Club Brugge on Wednesday night to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s not the best start. Luckily they didn’t punish us 2-0. After we recovered emotionally and we did a good performance.
“We had more of the ball than the last few games. It was really important.”
He added to the BBC: “We’ve been struggling lately and it’s been a tough, tough season. Most of the players have been here eight or nine years and I’m not going to change my mind in two months. We must realize that what we do is not enough.
“I asked them to step up and we did. We created enough chances to score goals and in the end I’m very satisfied with the win.
“Of course we need fresh legs with Omar and Khusanov and now we have a Champions League final on Wednesday.”
It’s not easy for Khusanov – Pep
Guardiola is confident that Khusanov will learn from his mistake.
“It’s not easy for him,” he said. “He trains once and then to play against Jackson and Cole (Palmer) and Madueke and (Jadon) Sancho. It’s a process when you buy such a young player. He will learn. These kinds of actions are the best lesson you can do.”
