MANCHESTER, England, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Manchester City beat Brentford 2-1 at home on Saturday to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season after Erling Haaland netted twice following the fastest goal of the season from the visitors.
Brentford had the perfect start when Yoane Wissa opened the scoring 22 seconds after kickoff to stun the Etihad Stadium but Haaland restored parity in the 19th minute when he scored from a tight angle with just his second touch of the game.
Haaland then made it 2-1 when Ederson booted the ball upfield where the Norwegian striker outmuscled defender Ethan Pinnock and chipped the ball past goalkeeper Mark Flekken for his ninth goal of the season.
As Haaland searched for that third goal which would have made him the first player to score hat-tricks in three straight Premier League games, Flekken made several saves to deny the league’s top scorer but City held on to seal the three points. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)