Jordan Pickford Escapes Punishment After Punching Erling Haaland in the Head

• Jordan Pickford escaped a red card after he punched Erling Haaland on May 14
• The Everton goalkeeper bumped into the Norwegian but no action was taken
• Manchester City beat Sean Dyche's side to make another huge step toward retaining their title

Jordan Pickford often divides opinion. With the England national team number one, there is usually no in-between. Either he has had an amazing game, like the one he had recently against Brighton, or he has committed a series of high-profile errors.

Many are those who fail to understand how he is still Gareth Southgate's first option despite the emergence of a good crop of shot-stoppers. Nick Pope and Aaron Rasmsdale, to mention a few.

Against Manchester City on May 14, he was at it again as he failed to help his side ease pressure on relegation fears. After a nervy start, the defending champions blew them away with two quick goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland.

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Gundogan added a third one after the break with a breathtaking freekick to score twice in the second successive league game.

The result leaves City winning a maximum of two wins from their remaining three games to win the title. However, with Arsenal's loss to Brighton, City will only need to beat Chelsea next weekend to claim a third consecutive title.

Pickford's challenge on Haaland

There was, however, a controversial moment in the game as Pickford appeared to punch Haaland on the back of the head.

A high ball was swung into the area, with Pickford electing to come out of his area. He cluttered into Haaland, missing the ball completely and punched him with the Norwegian going down.

Referee Anthony Taylor saw nothing sinister with the challenge with the VAR upholding his decision.

Gundogan stars against Everton

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Sports Brief has also reported that Ilkay Gundogan was the star of the day as Manchester City beat relegation-threatened Everton 3-0 at the Etihad to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points.

Two teams at two ends of the table, and the match went exactly as one would have predicted. The top team took the day with a dominant performance.

Gundogan opened the scoring in the 37th minute after controlling and turning a ball into the Toffees net from Riyad Mahrez’s cross.