Man City 3 Chelsea 1: Erling Haaland’s lob wins huge Premier League clash after Robert Sanchez’s latest howler
Man City 3 Chelsea 1: Erling Haaland’s lob wins huge Premier League clash after Robert Sanchez’s latest howler
Share:
Sponsored by. ROBERT SANCHEZ was king of the cock-ups on a night of blue shirts and red faces at an error-strewn Etihad. And no-one was happier to see the Chelsea keeper wearing the crown than Abdukodir Khusanov, after City’s own blunder boy had suffered the debut from hell.
![[Erling Haaland scoring a goal for Manchester City.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/erling-haaland-manchester-city-scores-966622034.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
More of that later…first, though, the latest clanger from Sanchez and a staggering FIFTH to cost his side a goal already this term. Quite why he chose to head for the left angle of his area to pick off Ederson’s huge kick downfield only he knows. He was never going to get close.
![[Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates a goal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-manchester-citys-erling-haaland-966622167.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Instead Erling Haaland got there first and had the simple task – for a finisher of his quality – of lobbing over the stranded Spaniard to put City in front. And in doing so that was the ultimate redemption for Khusanov, the young Uzbek centre back who had made the worst of first impressions on his bow for the sky blues.
![[Josko Gvardiol celebrating a goal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/24-josko-gvardiol-celebrates-scoring-966610864_6a704c.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Pep Guardiola knew he was taking the mother of all risks by pitching the youngster in a week after his arrival from Lens, but injuries left no choice. He soon regretted it. For two minutes in, with his first touch, it went so wrong for the kid and his manager.
![[Cole Palmer of Chelsea during a Premier League match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/7fae4429-0d44-4005-b788-4ed21f10ce07.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
First he missed out when leaping with Nicolas Jackson in an aerial challenge for Trevor Chalobah’s downtown punt. And that’s when it got really messy. For rather than taking the play-it-safe option of sticking it in the stands – or even the relative no-man’s land of the touchline – he amazingly tried to head back to Ederson.
