MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola has coached arguably the greatest-ever soccer player in Lionel Messi, so it speaks volumes when he admits he has run out of words to describe Erling Haaland's start to life at Manchester City.
"My English language is not big enough,” the City manager said after the Norway striker took his goal tally to 22 this season in a 3-1 win against Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.
Haaland, who had failed to find the back of the net in last week's 1-0 loss to Liverpool, quickly got over that mini-drought with two first-half goals as the Premier League champion moved to within a point of leader Arsenal.
With 17 goals in the league, Haaland needs just six more to equal the 23 goals that saw Mo Salah and Son Heung-min share the Golden Boot as last season's joint leading scorers.
“Erling has the quality," Guardiola said. "With big space he can do it, but with small space he can do it. This is the reality, it is fantastic.”
Haaland's goals have come in just 15 appearances in all competitions. He looked set to register his fourth hat trick of the season, with both goals coming before halftime.
He opened the scoring after 22 minutes when racing on to Ederson’s long clearance. With Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez stranded outside of his goal, Haaland overpowered Adam Webster and rolled the ball into an empty net.
He got his and City’s second two minutes before halftime after referee Craig Pawson reviewed a challenge from Lewis Dunk on Bernardo Silva and awarded a penalty.
Haaland stepped up and powered a low shot past Sanchez, which was the club's 600th league goal under Guardiola.
Just as City fans might have been wondering how many goals their team would rack up in a latest rout, Brighton reduced the deficit.
Riyad Mahrez looked set to add to the home team’s lead but his tame shot was saved by Sanchez, which allowed Brighton to break. Solly March laid the ball off to Leandro Trossard just outside the penalty box and he unleashed a low drive that beat Ederson at his near post in the 53rd.
Trossard could have equalized later when running through on goal – but his shot from a tight angle was saved.
Brighton paid the price for that missed opportunity when Kevin de Bruyne made it 3-1 in the 75th with a superb 25-yard shot that curled into the top corner.
While Guardiola has run out of superlatives for Haaland, he is still to be fully satisfied by De Bruyne this season.
"He is not playing at his top level, not yet,” he said. “He made a fantastic goal, but he is not playing at his best. He knows, I don’t have to tell him. His dynamic is still not perfect, I spoke with him.
“The goal is outstanding. Thanks to him we didn’t suffer in the last 15-20 minutes.”
Nottingham Forest 1 Liverpool 0
In Nottingham, host Forest produced a shock to beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Premier League.
The last-place team at the start of the day secured only its second win of the season in the game at the City Ground.
Taiwo Awoniyi struck in the 55th-minute to end Liverpool's mini-revival, which saw it beat Rangers, Manchester City and West Ham in its previous three games.
Awoniyi was on the books at Anfield for six years without ever playing for the first team, but he produced the decisive moment to lift Forest off the foot of the table.
“To score against Liverpool is a day I will never forget," he told BBC Sport. “I will always to be grateful to Liverpool for scouting me from Nigeria and scoring against them is amazing.”
The win eases the pressure on Forest manager Steve Cooper, who also used to coach at Liverpool.
“This is not the end, this has got to be a part of the start," Cooper said. "We get back in on Monday and work even harder. We’ve been on a difficult run but, I told the boys, I’ve not seen them hide, shy away or sulk. I’ve seen the opposite. That’s given me reassurance."
Forest took the lead 10 minutes into the second half when a free-kick found Steve Cook on the right-hand side. His cross was struck against the post by Ryan Yates, but Awoniyi was on hand to turn the rebound into an empty net.
Morgan Gibbs-White then saw another effort blocked by James Milner, which would have doubled the home team's lead.
Liverpool's fight back saw Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson palm away a Trent Alexander-Arnold header in the final 10 minutes.
In return, Alisson denied Yates late on before Henderson stopped a powerful header from Virgil van Dijk to secure the famous win.
Liverpool was without the injured Darwin Nunez and Thiago Alcantara, who was unwell.
“The performance I can kind of explain, the result not to be honest,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told BT Sport. "I never saw a game where one team has four or five no-brainers from a set piece where we have to finish it off.
“The way they defend we were perfectly prepared for that. We had to put the game to bed to be perfectly honest.”
Chelsea 1 Manchester United 1
In London, Chelsea and United failed to fully capitalize on Liverpool's latest stumble after sharing the points in the late kick off.
Casemiro headed an injury-time equalizer after Jorginho had scored an 87th-minute penalty.
While the draw was not ideal for either team, it suggests Chelsea manager Graham Potter and United's Erik ten Hag are continuing to stamp their authority on their respective teams.
Potter is undefeated in eight games since succeeding Thomas Tuchel last month, while Ten Hag has picked up 10 points from clashes with top four rivals Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.
“I have to make a big compliment to my team,” Ten Hag told BBC Sport. “To fight back with a fourth game in 10 days, you see the spirit and how they deal with setbacks. Really good.
