After Erling Haaland’s quite brilliant solo goal – his 12th of the season in nine games – secured all three points against Brentford, the fans serenaded him with jubilant chants of “ten more years, ten more years Erling Haaland” in reference to his long-term deal, surely aware of – perhaps even worried about – just where they might be without him.
“I’ve never felt better than I do now,” Haaland said after the game, crediting his kid for what he believes is the best form of his life as they allow him to “disconnect” from football.
He was grinning from ear to ear as he watched his “proper goal” back, thanking Sepp van den Berg for the assist more than actual assister Josko Gvardiol after the Brentford centre-back made the mistake of awakening the beast.
“I think it helps me because I was a bit tired before the game, going into the game I was thinking it’s going to be tough. Then after ten seconds he started pushing me and it motivates me. All praise to him honestly, he made me want to do that.”
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That thing – whether it’s bravado, peak physical fitness, a work-life balance, likely a combination of lots of things – which makes Haaland rise to a challenge rather than shrink away form it, was missing last season. Thirty-one goals is brilliant for most but sub-par for him, and we would rarely – if ever – see Haaland bully opponents as he did the Brentford defenders on Sunday, Monaco’s on Wednesday, and most others he’s had the chance to noogie into submission this season.
While the victory over Brentford was proof, if it was still needed, that The Real Erling Haaland is back, it was equally damning of his teammates’, and quite possibly his manager’s, failure to follow him on that path to redemption.
It looked as though Pep Guardiola’s 250th Premier League victory would be won in a similar vein to roughly 200 of his previous triumphs: City go ahead; pass opposition to death; score several more against tiring legs. But this isn’t that City.
Much has been made of Phil Foden’s resurgence, but he was horribly wasteful, as was Tiijani Reijnders, who’s got a helluva lot of work to do to show he bears even a passing resemblance to Kevin De Bruyne. And when City couldn’t secure that safety net, while their other failsafe Rodri hobbled off the pitch, something approaching panic set in when Brentford essentially remembered that this isn’t the City of two years ago.
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Guardiola insists City are “better” than last season, and there is improvement, but him then pinpointing Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma as “important pieces” suggests he may have taken the old adage that ‘football is won in both boxes’ a tad too literally. As it stands, those two are head and shoulders above their teammates, literally and metaphorically.
And Haaland must feel that. Rodri, De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and plenty of others were all in their prime when Haaland arrived and helped them to the treble. The striker was the final piece of a puzzle, who – lest we forget – was often picked out as a hindrance: ‘Are City better without Haaland?’ and all that.
He is now the star player at City; quite possible their only world class one. Guardiola once referred to Tottenham as “the Harry Kane team”. His Manchester City is now the Erling Haaland team. But for how much longer?
Nine years according to the contract he signed in January, but frankly, contract schmontract. He’s reportedly become an ‘obsession’ for Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who will very much be in the market for a No.9 in the summer when 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski’s deal expires.
And while we assume there’s nothing Haaland would like more after signing that extraordinary deal than to stay at City and win the major trophies his talent warrants, a second potless season on the bounce, or even one without either the Premier League or Champions League, may well be cause for itchy feet in his inevitable Golden Boot(s).