From the start of the match at La Ceramica, Haaland continuously made Villarreal's defense shaky. After two dangerous shots in the first minutes, the Norwegian striker opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a close-range shot after a smooth combination between Savinho, John Stones and Rico Lewis on the right wing.
In the 40th minute, Bernardo Silva doubled the gap for Man City with a close-range header, perfectly ending the first half for the English team.
Entering the second half, coach Pep Guardiola's team continued to maintain control. Man City's ball possession rate is always superior, while Villarreal has many difficulties in implementing counter-attacks. The home team created a few chances in the final minutes, but Gueye, Pepe and Oluwaseyi's shots could not beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Haaland left the field in the 85th minute to the cheers of the home crowd, after extending his streak of scoring 9 consecutive goals for Man City. With this result, the Premier League representative has 7 points after 3 matches, temporarily ranked 5th on the rankings, while Villarreal has only 1 point and is at the bottom of the table.
The victory over Villarreal helped Man City consolidate their position as the leading candidate for the top spot, while also showing the stability of the Champions League champions last season under Pep Guardiola.
