The Manchester City forward was selected the MEN Player of the Month for March, and he dismissed the notion that the Blues would be better without him.
Pep Guardiola has overseen a number of unbeaten months for Manchester City, but few have been as dominant as March.
The international pause ended In the first four games of March, four victories, four clean sheets, and sixteen goals were scored. City began the month with a dominant 2-0 victory against Newcastle at home, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace to maintain pressure on league leaders Arsenal.
Erling Haaland’s penalty was the first of five for the Norwegian and seven for City on the night, with the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against RB Leipzig hanging in the balance after 22 minutes. That evening, Guardiola’s squad displayed a brilliant second half, annihilating Leipzig and setting up a quarterfinal meeting with Bayern Munich.
Vincent Kompany’s return to Etihad Stadium and his team’s form were indicative of a significant sɦock in City’s FA Cup match against Burnley at the end of the month. Sadly for the Clarets, Haaland disagreed, as the 22-year-old scored three more goals with Julian Alvarez’s two and Cole Palmer’s one in a merciless 6-0 defeat.
Even by his standards, Haaland’s March performance of nine goals in four matches was exceptional, and he won the MEN’s Manchester City Player of the Month award for March with 64.8% (252) of the total votes.
Haaland currently has 42 goals in all competitions this season, surpassing the average of one goal per game with 1.14. His five goals against Leipzig tied the Champions League record set by Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano, and he could have scored more had he not been substituted with 30 minutes remaining.
Kevin De Bruyne finished second in the rankings with 20.8% of the vote. Guardiola pushed the 31-year-old to revert to the fundamentals after he struggled in March’s first two games against Newcastle and Palace, in which he showed little creativity. Nevertheless, in the second leg thumping of Leipzig, he did even more, controlling the show from midfield before scoring a magnificent goal of his own.
The Belgian began against his former captain’s Burnley team in the FA Cup, and his quality shined through with two superb assists that led to both of Alvarez’s goals.
Last but certainly not least, Ilkay Gundogan came in third place with 14.4% of the vote (56 votes). The club captain guided his team through two difficult league games to begin the month before scoring his fifth goal of the season in the victory over Leipzig, completing a brilliant finish from just inside the box following Jack Grealish’s pass.
If City goes on to win the Premier League or Champions League at the conclusion of the season, Guardiola will view March as a pivotal month. Four clean sheets exemplified Haaland’s overwhelming domination throughout, effectively silencing any remaining doubters.