Manchester City striker Erling Haaland appreciates there are no easy games in the Premier League after his 28th top-flight goal of the season sealed a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Haaland s penalty in the 78th minute earned City a vital win in the race for the title at Selhurst Park after Palace had frustrated the defending champions.
While Haaland was relieved to get the win, he referenced Liverpool s 1-0 defeat earlier in the day at Bournemouth as an example of the difficulty of the division.
In the end all that matters is three points, he told Sky Sports. It s not easy. Every single game is not easy. You saw Bournemouth beat Liverpool. Every single game is a fight and you saw that [for City], and we won and I am really happy.
No player has scored more Premier League penalties this season than Haaland (five, level with Brentford s Ivan Toney), while only Yaya Toure has scored more from the spot in a single campaign for City (six in 2013-14).
3 Crystal Palace have become the first team on record (since 2003-04) to fail to have a single shot on target in three consecutive Premier League matches. Blunt.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Pep Guardiola s men had to come from 2-0 down to beat Palace 4-2 in the reverse fixture in August, which, according to Haaland, is why he and his team-mates did not panic while their game on Saturday was goalless.
I was not concerned, I just tried to do as I do every single game and that was to focus on my game, he said. The last game against [Palace] we were 2-0 down, and this time we were 0-0, so it s not that bad, we had to keep going. As I said, it s not easy, but I m really proud.
Haaland missed an opportunity in the 28th minute when he scooped Nathan Ake s cross over the bar, and though the chance only had an expected goals (xG) rate of 0.2, the Norwegian said it annoyed him.
Of course I don t like to miss chances, he said. I had one in the first half that I should have scored, it was a small thing in the grass that made the ball bounce a bit higher, but what can I do?
I have to keep going and try to get the next chance, and I got my chance and I scored and we win, so I m happy.
City are just two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table, with the Gunners travelling to Fulham on Sunday.
