Erling Haalands best time of all comes in the competition Man City signed him to win
The Independent Erling Haaland can bring a certain directness, on and off the pitch. He can scythe a way through defences and, after his most devastating display, cut through the official rhetoric from Manchester City with similar speed. He had just struck five times against RB Leipzig, becoming only the third player to score five goals in a Champions League game, when he came out and said City bought him to win the competition.
It wasnt the party line, or something Pep Guardiola had ever admitted.
You say it yourself and its true: they won the Premier League without me, they won every trophy without me, Haaland rationalised. So Im here to try to do a thing that the club has never done before and Ill do my best. He nevertheless drew a direct link between his own presence and Citys fate in Europe. Haaland burdened himself with expectation. Of course I feel pressure, he said. I would lie if I said I didnt.
Thus far, he has dealt with it admirably. Haalands awkward start lasted precisely one game, a Community Shield when he had just 16 touches, hit the bar when presented with what almost amounted to an open goal and generated some entertainingly inaccurate predictions about how he would fare.
