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Haaland Sends Man City to the Top of the Premier League

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Southampton - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - October 26, 2024 Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after the match REUTERS/Molly Darlington
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Southampton - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - October 26, 2024 Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after the match REUTERS/Molly Darlington
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Haaland Sends Man City to the Top of the Premier League

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Southampton - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - October 26, 2024 Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after the match REUTERS/Molly Darlington
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Southampton - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - October 26, 2024 Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after the match REUTERS/Molly Darlington

Even if Erling Haaland is expected to miss out on the Ballon d'Or next week, his campaign to win it in 2025 is well underway.
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is the favorite to take soccer's most prestigious individual prize on Monday in Paris, but Haaland has been in near-unstoppable form this season.
The Norwegian goal machine scored for the 14th time in 13 games for Manchester City to send the defending English Premier League champion to the top of the standings after beating Southampton 1-0 on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
He needed just five minutes to produce the decisive goal at Etihad Stadium, following on from his double against Sparta Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday, which included a spectacular heel volley.
His close-range effort against Southampton was more routine, but it was enough to send City two points clear of second-placed Liverpool, which plays Arsenal on Sunday.
On a day of late drama, Aston Villa was third but dropped points after Evanilson scored in the sixth minute of added time to earn Bournemouth a 1-1 draw. Bryan Mbeumo also scored in added time to seal a 4-3 comeback win for Brentford against Ipswich, while winless Wolverhampton scored twice late on to draw at Brighton 2-2.
Unstoppable Haaland City manager Pep Guardiola described Haaland as a “guarantee for us” after the forward sealed three points against a Southampton team that has yet to win in the league since its promotion last season.
The league top scorer for the past two seasons leads the way again with 11 goals. Mbeumo is second with eight and Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood has seven.
Villa slips Leading the way in the Champions League, Villa was moments away from moving within a point of Liverpool after Ross Barkley's goal in the 76th looked like being enough to beat Bournemouth.
But Evanilson dashed those hopes.
Also US international Tyler Adams come off the Bournemouth bench to make his first appearance since the Copa America after back surgery.
Villa still moved up to third and a point ahead of fourth-placed Arsenal.
Late drama Mbeumo's goal in the sixth minute of added time sealed a 4-3 win for Brentford against Ipswich. Brentford trailed 2-0 early on and blew a 3-2 lead before Mbeumo's winner.
“Let’s put it this way, when we play it is exciting,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said.
Wolves staged a dramatic fightback of its own by scoring in the 88th and three minutes into stoppage time to salvage the draw at Brighton.

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Is Antonio Conte’s Napoli for Real? The Next 4 Games Are a Real Test

Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
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Is Antonio Conte’s Napoli for Real? The Next 4 Games Are a Real Test

Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Antonio Conte's Napoli has been unbeatable since mid-August.

Now comes the real test.

The Serie A leader will travel to the San Siro twice for games at AC Milan and Inter Milan in a space of less than two weeks and also play Atalanta and Roma over its next four matches. The rough stretch starts on Tuesday at Milan.

If Napoli can keep the lead or stay near the top after these four games, the Partenopei will be a serious contender for their second Italian title in three years — an achievement that would improve upon the two "scudetti" in four years that the club won with Diego Maradona in 1987 and 1990.

Having won eight of its last nine matches — interrupted only by a 0-0 draw at Juventus in September — Napoli hasn't lost since getting beaten by Hellas Verona in its Serie A opener on Aug. 18.

"We have amassed the points we needed to," Conte said, "and now it's never a walk in the park to play at the San Siro — whether it's against Inter or Milan."

Since the loss to Verona, Napoli has scored 16 goals and conceded two.

But Conte's side could be challenged by a Milan team that is rested after its match on Saturday was postponed due to flooding in Bologna.

Two key Milan players are suspended, though: Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders.

"Milan is certainly a strong team, who let us not forget was 22 points clear of Napoli last season and invested heavily on the transfer market," Conte said.

Napoli went through 3 different coaches last season

After winning Serie A under Luciano Spalletti in 2023, Napoli went through three different coaches last season when it finished 10th to miss out on Europe.

Conte signed a three-year contract in June and has made an almost immediate impact.

"Antonio is able to get inside the players' heads," said Ciro Ferrara, a former teammate of Conte's at Juventus turned analyst at DAZN. "He's able to extract the best out of his players."

Conte has also been a serial winner as a manager, amassing three Serie A titles at Juventus, Premier League and FA Cup trophies at Chelsea and another Serie A title at Inter Milan. He even guided Bari to the Serie B title before he moved to Juventus.

Lukaku, McTominay and Neres are making an impact

Conte convinced Romelu Lukaku to rejoin him at Napoli after the pair won at Inter and the Belgian striker has filled in well for the departed Victor Osimhen. Another player who has made an immediate impact is midfielder Scott McTominay, who joined in August after playing for Manchester United his entire career.

It was McTominay's header that led to a goal for Giovanni Di Lorenzo in a scrappy 1-0 win over Lecce on Saturday.

Newly signed David Neres has also been a force, giving Napoli more options beyond Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the wings.

Napoli has won its opening five home games at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for only the third time; having also achieved the feat with Maradona himself in 1989 and under Spalletti in 2021.

It's two tough away tests at the San Siro, though, that could give more credence to Napoli's potential.