
“IF WE rely only on Erling [Haaland’s] shoulders, we are not going to win the Champions League,” said Pep Guardiola as his Manchester City side kicked off their latest attempt to win European football’s most coveted trophy.
And though the phenomenal 22-year-old striker has begun his City career in emphatic fashion, his Catalan coach has a point.
Haaland’s previous club, Borussia Dortmund, were proof that the Norwegian goal-getter alone is not enough to win the title his team crave. Dortmund failed to overcome Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga, even with such an unusually prolific goalscorer in their ranks.

The captain’s emotional performance in Argentina’s win over Venezuela had all the markings of a farewell. But if history is any guide, the legend may not be done just yet, writes JAMES NALTON

As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON

JAMES NALTON takes a look at the German league’s move to grow its audience in Britain, and around the future of football on TV in general