Player ratings: Haaland scores four as Man City thrash Wolves 5-1 to make title statement

On Saturday evening, Erling Haaland was in fantastic form, scoring four times and leading Manchester City to a 5-1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

To keep up with Arsenal, who had secured a win against Bournemouth earlier in the day, City needed a win. Playing with confidence and poise, City dominated the game. Haaland completed his hat-trick before the interval.

Wolves seemed to be stirring for a comeback in the early part of the second half thanks to Hwang Hee-chan, but Haaland scored his fourth marvelous goal. Julian Alvarez added a fifth to retain Manchester City's top position in the Premier League title race.

In the early moments, City had a couple of chances to score. However, after ten minutes, Rayan Ait-Nouri fouled Josko Gvardiol in the penalty box, gifting City the opportunity to take the lead, which was well-deserved considering their early efforts.

Haaland took the penalty with confidence and scored from 12 yards to give his team the advantage.

Jose Sa was forced to make a spectacular save to foil Haaland from scoring his second goal with a header just minutes later. Nevertheless, the Norwegian triumphed with another airborne shot 35 minutes into the game which found its way to the back of the net.

Right before half-time, a VAR check gave Haaland the chance to score a hat-trick from the penalty spot. A foul on the City striker by Nelson Semedo was eventually punished, and Haaland scored his third goal against Wolves.

Eight minutes into the second half, Wolves managed to get one goal when Hwang found an open net as Ederson fumbled with a cross.

Not one to share the limelight, Haaland scored his fourth goal of the game with a stunning effort, marking the first time he has netted more than three goals in a Premier League match.

Sa managed to deflect yet another Haaland attempt over the goalpost soon after as City continued to press. Though visibly annoyed by his late substitution, Haaland's replacement, Alvarez, found the net with five minutes remaining in the game, wrapping up an exceptional performance from Pep Guardiola's team.