Erling Braut Haaland scored a hat-trick in Manchester City's 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The treble has taken Haaland onto 25 league goals for the campaign, while he has now found the back of the net on 31 occasions for the Citizens in all competitions since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
The result has moved Pep Guardiola's side onto 45 points in the table, two points behind leaders Arsenal, who are in action at home to fourth-placed Manchester United later this afternoon.
Wolves, meanwhile, remain in 17th spot in the table courtesy of their 11th league defeat of 2022-23, with Julen Lopetegui's side level on points with 18th-placed Bournemouth.
Man City's first serious attempt of the match came in the 18th minute when Jack Grealish broke forward before feeding Haaland, but his effort was well saved by Jose Sa.
Wolves' goalkeeper was again called into action in the 29th minute to keep out a long-range drive from Grealish, who was alert to the situation after a Kevin De Bruyne cross was only half-cleared.
Rodri then struck one over the Wolves crossbar in the 33rd minute, with Man City looking the more likely to make the breakthrough on a bitter afternoon in Manchester.
Guardiola's side eventually made the breakthrough in the 40th minute, with Haaland heading a brilliant De Bruyne cross past Sa to send the hosts into the lead.
Man City had a big shout for a penalty in the 42nd minute when Grealish went down inside the box under a challenge from Nathan Collins, but the referee was not interested and VAR agreed with the call.
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The home side had another two chances to double their advantage before the end of the first period, but brilliant defending from Collins kept the score at 1-0, with the Wolves defender heading a Grealish effort away before blocking De Bruyne's shot.
Man City were awarded a penalty in the 49th minute of the contest when Ruben Neves fouled Ilkay Gundogan, and Haaland stepped forward to find the bottom corner of the net.
Haaland then completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute, with the Norway international converting a low cross from Riyad Mahrez after Sa had played the ball straight into the Algerian's feet.
Pablo Sarabia had a goal-bound strike blocked by Nathan Ake, with Wolves looking to answer back, before Mahrez had a goal disallowed for offside, with Man City being denied a fourth.
Wolves continued to have their moments, with Ederson needing to keep out a strike from Daniel Podence in the 68th minute, but the visitors never threatened to make it an uncomfortable conclusion for the champions.
Sa had to make a smart save to prevent Julian Alvarez, who replaced Haaland just past the hour, from scoring a fourth for Man City in the 73rd minute, before Gundogan nodded wide of the Wolves post 10 minutes from time.
Podence fired one just wide of Ederson's goal down the other end two minutes later, but there was to be no late consolation for the visitors, as Guardiola's side kept their clean sheet intact.
Next up for Man City is a home game against Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night, while Wolves will be bidding to bounce back from the loss when they welcome Liverpool to Molineux in the Premier League on February 4.
Matt Law
