Haaland pleased with Manchester City’s hard-fought win over Crystal Palace

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By Martin Graham | 12th Mar 2023

Erling Haaland has revealed he is pleased with nothing but the three points after City battled to a narrow 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.

It was not the routine victory for the Citizens as many predicted as they had to show resilience, grit and determination to claim the win and the all-important three points.

A stubborn Palace side held their own for a bulk of the game until Michael Olise fouled Ilkay Gundogan inside the box to give City a penalty 12 minutes from time.

Haaland made no mistake from the spot to make it 28 league goals for the season and the Norwegian was not bothered about his side’s struggles and rather saw the positive result – three points that saw City narrow the gap to within two points of league leaders Arsenal.

Haaland pleased with City’s fighting spirit

Speaking post-match, the forward said: “In the end everything that matters is the three points, to win games and to keep performing.

“It’s not easy. You saw Bournemouth beat Liverpool today. Every game is a fight, you saw that today, we fought and won and I’m happy. It’s my job and I enjoy every single second. It’s nice.

“Everyone knows how important this win is for us. We have to keep going. I say this every time but it’s the truth.

“I was not concerned [when 0-0]. I just do as I do every game, focus on my game. It’s not that bad, we have to keep going. As I said it’s not easy, I’m really proud

“We have to play different ways. Other teams adapt to how City play, of course because in the last five years we have four Premier Leagues. That’s normal. What can I do, we just have to try to do our best and perform.

“Of course I don’t like to miss chances. I had one in the first-half that I should have scored, there was a small thing in the grass that made the ball bounce higher!

“What can I do, I have to keep going, I got the next chance and I scored and we won, so I’m happy.”

Haaland also spoke on the title race, saying he loved the intensity but admits City must only focus on themselves at the moment.

“Every single game is important now. Leipzig is the next game then it is Burnley. We have to win, we have to win games,” he added.

“With this gap, we just have to focus on ourselves. We have them [Arsenal] at home and a lot of games left to play still. Nothing is decided yet.

“I enjoy it [title race], this is England, this is what I’ve been watching my entire life.

“I enjoy every single second of it. It’s good to be in the middle of it.”