Postecoglou sacked after 39 days, Haaland fires Man City top

LONDON (Reuters) - Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest nightmare ended after 39 days as he was sacked following his side's 3-0 home loss to Chelsea but 3,397 days into his Manchester City reign, Pep Guardiola again found himself top of the Premier League on Saturday.

City striker Erling Haaland took his Premier League tally this season to 11 in eight games with both goals after halftime as his side beat Everton 2-0 at home to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight.

Guardiola's side moved top with 16 points, above Arsenal on goals scored although Arsenal were in action later at Fulham.

Crystal Palace and Bournemouth shared six goals in a 3-3 thriller at Selhurst Park with Jean-Philippe Mateta bagging a hat-trick for the hosts who trailed 2-0 and 3-2.

Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade scored for the fifth game in succession for club and country but it was not enough for his side who went down 2-1 at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Promoted Sunderland's impressive start continued as they beat bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 while Burnley moved out of the bottom three by beating Leeds United 2-0.

Postecoglou came out fighting in the build-up to Saturday's lunchtime kickoff at the City Ground, saying the story always ended with him winning a trophy at his previous clubs.

But after a second-half capitulation against Chelsea that made him winless in eight games since replacing the popular Nuno Espirito Santo, the writing was on the wall.

Nineteen minutes after the final whistle, and before he had even held a post-match news conference, he was sacked.

"After a series of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect," the club said in a statement.

Postecoglou's abrupt departure made him the shortest-serving permanent Premier League manager to be sacked mid-season.
Forest, who ended the day in the relegation zone, actually dominated the first half with Morgan Gibbs-White having two big opportunities to put them ahead.