Man City news: Manager Pep Guardiola has warned his team that they cannot win the Champions League if they rely solely on Erling Haaland.
Man City signed Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window. The Premier League champions activated the release clause in Haaland’s Dortmund contract. The Norwegian international has signed a five-year contract with Man City.
Haaland was instantly on the move at Man City. The 22-year-old has already reached double figures, scoring 10 goals in just six Premier League games.
Haaland already has two Premier League hat-tricks for Man City. He scored them in a 4-2 win over Crystal Palace and a 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest. He has also recorded an assist for Man City.
Man City news: Guardiola says Man City cannot trust Erling Haaland if they want to win Champions League and Premier League
Guardiola has now insisted that Man City cannot rely solely on Haaland to deliver the goods. He also lavished praise on Haaland, whom he said has a ‘special quality’ and can fix his problems in big matches.
Guardiola, however, also emphasized the need to play well if they want to win the Champions League and the Premier League.
“I’ve always believed it, but if we just lean on Erling’s shoulders, we’re not going to win the Champions League. What we have to do is play well, create opportunities to help him score goals and hopefully we can do that.”
Guardiola added: “He has a special quality and in important games he can definitely solve the problems we have, but if we don’t play well we won’t win games in the Champions League or the Premier League.”
Meanwhile, Man City are off to a good start to the 22/23 Premier League season. They are second in the points table, behind only league leaders Arsenal. The defending champions have 14 points from six games, having won four and drawn two.
Man City defeated West Ham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. And they shared points in their matches against Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
Man City kick off their 22/23 Champions League campaign below. It has been drawn alongside Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and FC Copenhagen in Group G.
City faces Sevilla in their first game of the 22/23 Champions League season. They will face the Spanish team in an away match at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium. The match kicks off at 12:30 am Indian Standard Time on September 6.
Man City then hosts Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium in their next game in the English Premier League.
