The Erling Haaland brace against FC Porto ensured a 2-0 win in the Cityzens’ first UEFA Champions League match of the season on Tuesday, September 8. The Erling Haaland brace meant that the Cityzens have won four consecutive matches after their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield at the start of August.
Haaland also scored against Coventry City last weekend and has scored five goals in his first five matches of the season. The 26-year-old Norwegian has started the new season with a bang, and Enzo Maresca will be relieved to see that.
Erling Haaland Brace: Manchester City’s Most Important Player
The Erling Haaland brace showed once again why he is so important to Manchester City. Despite the presence of Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo, Manchester City depend on Haaland to a great extent to score their goals and fire them to victory. Haaland now has 167 goals in 203 matches for Manchester City and is in his fifth season at the club. Aside from Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Bernardo Silva, no other Manchester City player has been as influential for the club during the same period of time as Haaland.
However, those three players have left the club, and Haaland will have to improve his combination with the likes of Cherki and Semenyo, who are comparatively new to the club. The Norwegian seems to have done a good job at that so far, and his appetite for goals shows no signs of dwindling.
Haaland will once again be the favourite to win the Premier League Golden Boot, which he has won three times already. He has won the European Golden Shoe only once, and that was in the same season the Cityzens won the treble. The Erling Haaland brace on Tuesday showed that he can still rise to the big occasion and deliver when the team needs him. It can be debated whether he is the best number nine in world football or Kylian Mbappe deserves that honour, but the Norwegian striker remains a superb player.
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Erling Haaland Brace: Norwegian Striker Turns His Attention To The Manchester Derby
Manchester City will take on Manchester United on Sunday, September 13. The Red Devils beat the Cityzens at Old Trafford in their last clash, as it was Michael Carrick’s first Manchester derby as a manager, and Sunday’s derby will be Maresca’s first taste of the fixture. The Cityzens are already five points ahead of the Red Devils; hence, Manchester United will try hard to reduce the gap by winning the match at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Erling Haaland brace on Tuesday shows that the Cityzens are well-prepared for the match, and will be gunning to secure a fifth consecutive win.
All eyes will again be on Haaland in the Manchester derby. Should he come good again, the Cityzens will be the favourites to win the match and extend their perfect record in the Premier League to four matches. The Erling Haaland brace will give Maresca much confidence ahead of the match on Sunday, and the Italian will hope that the Cityzens can avenge their defeat against their city neighbours last season.
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