Manchester City continued their unbeaten run at the Etihad Stadium with a rampant 6-0 victory over Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest.
It didn't take long for the scoring to begin, with Norwegian talisman Eirling Haaland grabbing his first of the game in the opening quarter of an hour.
The former Borussia Dortmund man added his second of the game a little over 10 minutes later. Haaland latched onto a Phil Foden pass to tap into an empty net. The forward's hat-trick was completed five minutes before half-time, as he once again netted from close-range.
The second-half kicked off in the same fashion, this time right-back Joao Cancelo getting in on the scoring act. 15 minutes after their fourth, they added a fifth. Summer signing Julian Alvarez rounding off a passing move, firing low past Dean Henderson.
The Argentine scored his second Premier League goal of the season with five minutes to go, unleashing a poweful strike past the Manchester United loanee, Henderson, in between the sticks.
It was a comfortable three points for The Citizens, who continue their unbeaten start of the season. The result leaves them two points behind table-toppers Arsenal.
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Story of the Match
City headed into the game on the back of a good comeback win against Crystal Palace. It was a confident 4-2 victory, that saw Eirling Haaland take centre stage, scoring a hat-trick. Visitors Forest lost 2-0 to Antonio Conte's Tottenham Hotspur, with striker Harry Kane bagging a brace.
Pep Guardiola made two changes to his City side, dropping Kevin de Bruyne for Ilkay Gundogan, and bringing in Julian Alvarez in the place of Riyad Mahrez. Steve Cooper made three changes to the side that lost to Tottenham, replacing Jesse Lingard, Steve Cook and Harry Toffolo with Remo Freuler, Cheikhou Kouyate and Renan Lodi.
Hat-trick hero Haaland
The game quickly found a pattern and, as expected, City were on top. Just eight minutes in, Dean Henderson was forced into a good save to deny Julian Alvarez a first Premier League goal. The Nottingham Forest defence could only hold out for four more minutes, when Eirling Haaland notched his first of the evening.
The Norwegian forward getting across his man and poking in from close-range. Unfortunately for Steve Cooper, this did little to rally his troops; as a little over 10 minutes later Haaland had his second. This time the ball was rolled across the box by Phil Foden for an easy tap-in.
It wouldn't get any better for the team from the East Midlands, as Haaland completed his hat-trick before half-time. Centre-back John Stones rose highest at the back post to head an enticing ball across Forest's six-yard area, and who else but Haaland was there to knock the ball into an empty net. It was a proper striker's hat-trick, one not too dissimilar to his treble against Crystal Palace in the previous game.
Just five minutes after the interval, The Citizens added their fourth. This time right-back Joao Cancelo popped up on the edge of the box in acres of space. The Portuguese man steadied himself and lashed the ball home, past a helpless Henderson.
Summer signing Julian Alvarez scored his first of the night just past the hour mark. The Argentine latched onto a lovely pass from substitute Mahrez, and smashed a low shot into the bottom corner of the net. The Argentine would add his second of the season with five minutes to go.
This time Alvarez would pick up a loose, bouncing ball and smash it into the roof of the net to round off the scoring for the night. The result leaves City second, two points behind Arsenal. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest drop to 15th in the standings.
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Player of the Match: Eirling Haaland
Who else was it going to be? The Norwegian has been on fire since joining the Premier League, and it was no different tonight. He added his seventh, eighth and ninth strikes of the season; and his sixth in two games.
Many people thought Haaland wold struggle to adapt to life under Guardiola, but this simply hasn't been the case. Premier League defences and managers alike will be watching on in fear. Right now, it seems there is no way to stop the talismanic forward.
If he carries on this form, who knows what City can do this year?