The Norwegian striker, in the super victory in the round of 16 of the tournament, is literally unstoppable: it ends 6-2 for Pep’s team. And on Sunday there is the derby with United
– London
Exaggerated. Erling Haaland had another monster evening, tearing Luton apart with 5 goals, which Manchester City beat 6-2 at Kenilworth Road. The Norwegian is the absolute protagonist of the evening of the FA Cup round of 16 in the stadium that seems to have come out of the history books, crowded between the houses of the Islamic neighborhood of the town on the outskirts of London, more famous for the airport than anything else: 5 goals there he had already achieved in his adventure at City, in the second leg of last season’s Champions League round of 16, but this time the very poker is away and the top 4 are inspired by Kevin De Bruyne. They are the arm and the mind of this unplayable City, two so strong that the Belgian’s deep pass becomes the natural prologue to the progression of the Norwegian who always ends up scoring, as if Guardiola had found the cheat code for the Playstation.
THE KEYS
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Luton actually tried to play it against the team that collected trophies in 2023, and for a very short period, three minutes of the second half, they even believed they could reopen a match in which they had ended up 3-0 down, when Clark at the start of the second half he made it 3-2. That’s when Haaland completed the job, with a brace between the 55th and 58th minutes to seal the match. The cyclone Erling played a 10 cum laude match, just as De Bruyne’s performance was fantastic: the idea the day before was that Guardiola could leave them rested, given that Sunday is the derby with United, but the two phenomena showed by playing a wonderful match that letting them take the field was a good idea. John Stones’ game was also wonderful, as for the first time in the season he played three consecutive games without getting hurt. Unlike Jack Grealish, who was relaunched as a starter but forced to come off in the 38th minute due to yet another muscle injury which sent him back to the bench in tears. From Luton all that remains to be saved is the courage of a team that had to climb Mount Everest, which ended up 3-0 down and yet didn’t give up on playing for it. But there is a gulf between the two teams and we saw it all on the pitch.
THE MATCH
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City strikes after 3′ with Haaland, defends itself from the home team’s good reaction and goes 2-0 already in the 18th minute again with the Norwegian, again launched by De Bruyne. The hat trick came in the 40th minute, again with an assist from De Bruyne and an arrogant goal from Haaland, who this time won the physical duel with Johnson, who took over from Bell a minute ago (injured like Grealish, in tears on the bench after yet another muscle problem). Luton reignited Kenilworth Road before the break, with Clark’s unstoppable right-footed shot from the edge of the box into the top corner. It is again the midfielder with the number 18 who sensationally reopens a match that seemed closed, when in the 52nd minute he collects another assist from Barkley to pass the guilty Ortega and make it 3-2. Luton’s ancient stadium begins to explode to push his team, but the illusion lasts three minutes, long enough for the Haaland cyclone to be unleashed, shutting down the crowd with two goals in four minutes (the 5th, surprisingly, is not an assist by De Bruyne) and seals City’s 5-2. Kovacic closed the set in the 72nd minute with an unstoppable right-footed shot from outside
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