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Could Haaland be City's Champions League elixor?
Though Guardiola's keen to talk up his other players, JAMES NALTON explains why it's hard not to put all the focus on their extraordinary new striker
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates with fans after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League Group G match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville, Spain. Picture date: Tuesday September 6, 2022.
“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.
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