Erling Haaland scored twice to raise his Premier League tally to nine as Manchester City bounced back from an early setback to maintain their 100% record with a win over Brentford.
Brentford’s Yoane Wissa struck the fastest top-flight goal of the season, heading into an open net after John Stones and Ederson mishandled an attempted clearance from Keane Lewis-Potter’s nod-back.
Despite the early shock, Haaland quickly steadied the ship, scoring after Kevin de Bruyne was tackled inside the Brentford box.
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Playing through the grief of losing a close family friend earlier in the week, Haaland added a second goal before the break by outmuscling Ethan Pinnock to connect with Ederson’s long ball.
Haaland came close to achieving a rare feat, becoming only the fifth player in English top-flight history – and the first since 1946 – to score three consecutive hat-tricks.
He nearly did so when Brentford keeper Mark Flekken saved one of his efforts, and another shot hit the post, with the rebound lacking the power to go in.
Despite the crowd’s enthusiasm, his father Alfie watching from the stands, and manager Pep Guardiola’s decision to keep him on the pitch despite the upcoming Champions League match against Inter Milan, Haaland had to settle for two goals on the day.