7 hours ago
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Manchester City are firmly back in the title race after they battled to a 1-0 win against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
What a difference four days make. Erling Haaland scowled at the cameras and berated his teammates after his two goals at Monaco were only enough for a draw on Wednesday night.
In West London, his goal was enough for a vital three points in the Premier League title race, and he stripped off at full-time, handing his shirt to a giddy supporter in the away end with that scowl replaced by a beaming smile.
Haaland again showed moments of frustration in the second half at Brentford as City lost the control and dominance they had enjoyed before the break, but they managed to hang on. After Liverpool were beaten for the third time in a week, this felt like the day that truly relaunched a three-horse race for the title.
It's been something of an old-school Premier League season so far, with a heavy focus on set-pieces and long throws, so maybe it would be fitting if the title was decided by a trio of No. 9s.
After a spell when strikers were an endangered species, they are back, and the breeding ground for the old-school marksman seems to be Scandinavia. So, it is a significant subplot in what is shaping up to be a three-horse race that the leading contenders all have someone who fits that bill.
Just 25 months separate Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres in age, the Norwegian and two Swedes who wear the No. 9 for City, Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, and they have taken very different journeys to the position where their goalscoring output could decide the destiny of the 2025/26 Premier League.
They cost their current clubs £231million in transfer fees, and the fact that Haaland came in cheapest of all shows what a deal City got. Not only did they land the best striker of the modern era, but they also tied him to a contract that kept him at the Etihad until 2034.
'Ten more years, ten more years, Erling Haaland’ sang the away end at the Gtech Community Stadium after he had scored his 18th goal in 11 games for club and country this year. Gyokeres has three in 10 for Arsenal, and Isak has one in six for Liverpool. Haaland's tally for City is 12 in nine.
This goal was remarkably similar in structure to his opener in Monaco in midweek. He made another bending run to offer a pass to Josko Gvardiol, but had more to do when the ball reached him, bullying Sepp van der Berg to get in on goal and the finish was never in doubt when he got to see the whites of Caoimhin Kelleher's eyes.
That made it 20 different Premier League stadiums he has scored in, with Anfield the last fortress to be broken. He will have to wait until February to try his luck again on Merseyside, but on this evidence, that could be one of several head-to-heads between the big three this season that could define the destiny of the title.
Of course, it won't all come down to the strikers. Arsenal and Liverpool could point to having attacks that contribute more collectively than City's, but for now, Haaland is making that irrelevant. He is scoring enough for two attackers, and if that continues, he could give his club the edge come May.
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