Peter Crouch believes a key Manchester City player looked back to his best against Wolves on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Pep Guardiola’s men came away from Molineux on Saturday with all three points after an emphatic 4-0 win, and the performance kept any talk of City looking the same as last season at bay.
The encouraging thing for Man City fans is that several of their new stars stood out against Wolves, with Tijjani Reijnders stealing the show, Rayan Cherki scoring on his debut, and James Trafford receiving praise for a composed performance in goal.
Many of the old guard also stepped up on matchday one, and Peter Crouch believes a key member of Guardiola’s squad looked back to his best.
Erling Haaland celebrates his goal during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Peter Crouch says Erling Haaland is back to his best
Troy Deeney labelled Haaland as “remarkable” ahead of the Premier League getting underway last weekend and stated that he was surprised that no one was talking about the Norwegian superstar in the build-up to the 2025/26 campaign.
The striker showed just why Deeney was so surprised, as the 25-year-old bagged a brace, and following the superstar’s impressive performance, Crouch has stated that Haaland looks back to his best after a tough season last time around.
More Man City News
“It’s one of those where you’re like, we’re only ignoring City for the league title because they were so, they weren’t themselves last year, but you’re getting Rodri back, Reijnders looks an unbelievable player, Cherki looks unreal, Haaland looks back to his best. They look great,” Crouch said on That Peter Crouch Podcast.
“John Stones, you know, like he struggled for fitness last year. Are we not ignoring the fact that these are going to be right up there?”
Haaland also received praise from Chris Sutton after his display against Wolves, and if Guardiola has the Norwegian international performing at this level throughout the season, Man City will certainly be in contention for the Premier League.
Erling Haaland’s incredible record against Wolves
Although it is easy to get excited about Haaland’s display against Wolves, it will take more time to see what level the superstar is truly at, as the Midlands club is one of the 25-year-old’s favourite teams to play against.
Since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in 2022, the striker has faced Wolves on six occasions in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals across 486 minutes of action.
Only RB Leipzig are ahead of the Premier League club when it comes to the opponents Haaland has scored the most against, with the German club conceding 12 when facing the City forward.
The Norwegian has a mixed record against Tottenham, so this weekend will tell a lot about what to expect from the 25-year-old throughout the remainder of the 25/26 season.