Erling Haaland says Liverpool's defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday shows how tough Manchester City had to fight at Crystal Palace.
City battled hard on a frustrating evening at Palace, waiting patiently before winning a second-half penalty that Haaland coolly dispatched. Haaland praised his side's mentality for remaining calm when chances were going awry, and pointed to Liverpool's lunchtime slip-up at Bournemouth as an example of how tough every game can be in the Premier League.
Haaland also hailed the significance of the result in the title race, with City reducing the gap to Arsenal to two points, knowing the Gunners will play twice before the Blues next play in the league.
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"In the end everything that matters is three points. To win games to keep performing," he told Sky Sports. "It's not easy, you saw Bournemouth beat Liverpool, every game is a fight. You saw today it was a fight. We win and are really happy. It's a nice stadium, I enjoy it, it's my job and I enjoy every single second.
"Everyone knows how important this win is for us, we have to keep going. I say every time but it's the truth."
As the game wore on and City were still being held by a Palace side who would have no shots on target, Haaland detailed how the side kept their focus, and didn't allow frustration or concern to creep into their mentality.
He continued: "I wasn't concerned. As I do every game, I had to try to focus on my game. Last game vs these we were 2-0 down, today we were 0-0. We had to keep going, it wasn't easy.
"It's okay [playing against defensive sides], we have to play different ways. People adapt to us how we, Man City, play. Last five years have been four Premier Leagues, they have to adapt to the best team for I don't know how long. I cannot do anything [about] what they do. We have to try and do our best.
"Every game now [is important], Leipzig is the next game and then Burnley. We have to win, of course we just have to focus on ourselves. We have them [Arsenal] at home, a lot of games to play. Nothing is decided yet."
Haaland also opened up on his first-half miss, when he scooped over a very presentable chance from six yards.
"I don't like to miss chances," he said. "I had the one in the first half I should have scored, there was a small thing in the grass that made it bounce higher. I had to get the next chance. I got it, I scored, we win, and I'm happy."
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