Haaland hat-trick chaos as Man City edge Spurs in 5-goal live thriller
23.01.2026 - 07:39:44
The football results today from England’s top flight delivered one headline above all: Manchester City 3–2 Tottenham at the Etihad, a game that felt like a Champions League night dropped into January. Erling Haaland? Ice-cold. Son Heung-min? Still a big–game killer. And defensively, both sides looked like they were playing rush-goalkeeper in the park.
Man City 3–2 Spurs – Haaland goes full machine mode
From the very first whistle this one was chaos. City came flying out and it took just 14 minutes for the breakthrough. Kevin De Bruyne slipped a filthy reverse pass in behind, and Erling Haaland did what Erling Haaland does: one touch to set, second touch laced low into the bottom corner. 1–0 City, Haaland the scorer.
Spurs, to be fair, didn’t fold. On 28 minutes they hit back. Pedro Porro overlapped on the right, whipped in a teasing cross and Son Heung-min ghosted in between Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol to glance a header inside the far post. Goal for Spurs – Son the scorer – 1–1 and the away end erupted.
But City’s response was brutal. Just before half-time, Phil Foden twisted two defenders inside out, fed Bernardo Silva on the edge, and his low shot was spilled by the keeper. Guess who was first to react? Yep, Haaland again, smashing the rebound from close range on 43 minutes. 2–1 City, Haaland at the double.
The second half turned into a siege. City pinned Spurs back, and on 62 minutes, De Bruyne floated in one of those trademark whipped crosses from the left half-space. Haaland attacked it like it owed him money and buried a towering header. Hat-trick completed – Erling Haaland the scorer again – 3–1 City. That’s the kind of ruthless finishing that wins titles, and he knew it, roaring at the cameras with the entire Etihad bouncing.
Tottenham, though, refused to die. Ange Postecoglou’s side kept trying to play through City’s press and finally made it interesting again on 79 minutes. A slick passing move saw James Maddison slide a ball into the box, and Richarlison peeled off his marker to clip a delicate finish past Ederson. 3–2 – Richarlison the scorer – and suddenly it was game on.
The last 10 minutes? Pure anxiety. City dropped deeper, Pep Guardiola screaming every instruction he could find from the touchline, Haaland chasing long clearances like a man who still wanted a fourth. Spurs pumped crosses in, Kulusevski had a late effort blocked, and there was one huge flashpoint in stoppage time: a VAR check for handball on Dias after a Son cross. The referee initially pointed to the spot, Spurs went wild, but VAR told him to take another look. After a long, tense review, he overturned it – no penalty, no equaliser – massive controversy.
Haaland walks away with the match ball and a statement performance. His movement, his aggression, his finishing – absolutely world class. De Bruyne looked like he’s never been away either, with two assists and constant control of the tempo. On the flip side, Son Heung-min still looked dangerous every time Spurs broke, nicking that first-half header and stretching City’s backline, while Maddison added the guile that kept them in it. Defensively, though, Spurs were way too open against the most clinical striker on the planet.
What it means for the title race
This result is huge. With that 3–2 win, Manchester City climb back to the top of the Premier League pile, nudging ahead of their rivals and cranking the pressure on everyone chasing. Spurs, meanwhile, are now glued right into the chasing pack scrap – and those dropped points could be costly in the battle for Champions League spots.
What does this mean for the title race? Click here for the live standings
The live football league table shows how thin the margins are at the top right now. Just a single bad weekend can flip the script entirely, and with City chasing yet another title, every Haaland hat-trick feels like a punch to the gut for the rest of the league.
Around Europe – Stars under the spotlight
Elsewhere in today’s soccer news, the other big guns were in action too, even if nothing matched the Etihad for sheer drama. Across the continent, the usual suspects kept hogging the headlines: Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham both found the net in their respective games, reminding everyone that the Champions League news cycle is never really asleep. Bellingham continued his habit of arriving late in the box for a clinical low finish, while Mbappé rattled one into the top corner from the edge of the area – a typical power-curler that left the keeper rooted.
But make no mistake, the top scorers today conversation belongs to Haaland. When you’re dropping a hat-trick in a must-win game, you basically hijack every highlight reel on YouTube for the night.
Social Media Spotlight – fans losing their minds
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans raging and debating over that stoppage-time VAR handball call
The hashtag #MCITOT is basically on fire right now. One side of the timeline is screaming that it’s a stonewall penalty for Spurs, the other is saying the ball hit Dias too high on the arm and that VAR finally did its job. Add in endless clips of Haaland’s movement for his second and third goals, plus screenshots of Guardiola’s face during the VAR delay, and you’ve got pure social chaos.
Reporter’s Take – Haaland saves City, questions for Spurs
In my opinion, this was one of those nights where world-class quality simply bailed a team out. City were nowhere near perfect – they gave away chances, switched off for both Spurs goals, and nearly imploded with that late handball scare. But when you have Haaland up front and De Bruyne feeding him, you almost always have a way out.
For Spurs, the philosophy is brave and fun to watch, but at some point you’ve got to ask: is it too naive against the very best? Leaving space for a striker like Haaland to attack is basically football self-harm. Son and Richarlison did their jobs, they scored and kept the team alive, but the defensive structure just doesn’t feel ready for a title push yet.
This game also cranks the heat back on the rest of the league. If you’re chasing City and you see them scrambling to a 3–2 win even on an off-night, you know the standard you’re dealing with. The message from tonight is simple: drop your level even 5%, and they’ll run you over.
Final whistle – the race is officially insane
So as the dust settles on today’s football results, we’ve got Haaland walking off with the match ball, City walking off with three massive points, and Spurs walking off wondering how close they actually are to the real elite. The title race just got another jolt of electricity, and every single game from here feels like a mini-final.
If you want the full picture – who’s climbing, who’s collapsing, who’s quietly sneaking into Europe – the live table tells the whole story.
Check full stats & standings now
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