Manchester City have a weapon that their rivals don’t which stood out today against Everton | OneFootball

A second-half brace from Erling Haaland saw Manchester City beat Everton 2-nil at the Etihad Stadium today. Haaland’s brace ensured that City picked up a valuable three points in what loomed as a tricky Premier League fixture for Pep Guardiola’s side. Watching Erling Haaland come to life in the second half of today’s match, it became apparent that Manchester City have a weapon up front that their rivals do not. That could prove to be massive as the 25/26 season progresses.

Erling Haaland fired Manchester City to an important victory today.

For the first 57 minutes of today’s match, Manchester City were frustrated by a stubborn Everton side. David Moyes had set his side out to frustrate Pep Guardiola’s side and look to hit them on the counter. That plan worked for 57 minutes of today’s match.

That was until Erling Haaland came to life. His powerful header from a Nico O’Reilly cross gave City the lead in the 58th minute. Haaland beat Jordan Pickford in the 63rd minute with a precise strike after some neat play from Phil Foden found Savinho in space on the left wing. The Brazilian international picked out Haaland, and the game was effectively over. Haaland’s five-minute brace ended Everton’s stubborn resistance. Erling Haaland should have at least scored a hat trick by the end of the game. But by then, he’d done his job. He’d knocked the stuffing out of Everton, and that was enough.

Erling Haaland’s goals today showed what Manchester City have and what their rivals do not. In Haaland, City have the ultimate wrecking ball. In the blink of an eye, he’d ended today’s match. For 57 minutes, Haaland was on the periphery of the match against Everton. But 5 minutes later, he’d decided the game. The Norwegian international is the ultimate match-winner. City have that in their armoury, and while Liverpool and Arsenal have quality strikers in their squads, they do not have Erling Haaland. An Erling Haaland goal deflates Manchester City’s opponents, and there is no telling what that is worth. That is what City have in Haaland and what their rivals do not.

Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland after his performance against Everton.

Speaking after his team’s win over Everton, Pep Guardiola told the media that Erling Haaland is Manchester City’s key man. But he did add that Haaland’s teammates need to step up and start scoring goals. Speaking on Erling Haaland’s performance, Pep Guardiola told the media: “He could’ve scored four or five. He’s our key man, what can I say? At the same time, we cannot rely on, and we want to do good things not just with Erling.”

“Our wingers, attacking midfielders, others have to make a step up, and chances we create, they’re SO clear! You have to score; Savio had two, Jeremy [Doku] had two, Tijjani [Reijnders] had another, you have to score.”

Pep Guardiola’s assessment is correct on both counts. Manchester City need other players to step up and ease the goalscoring burden on Erling Haaland. The hope is that the goals aren’t far away for Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders, Omar Marmoush and others. If they start flowing alongside Haaland’s goals, City will be almost impossible to stop in the final third.

But the other part of Pep Guardiola’s assessment is true. Erling Haaland is Manchester City’s key man. He has scored 14 goals in 10 games for Manchester City this season. Those numbers are absurd. In Haaland, Manchester City have a weapon that their rivals do not. That is a player capable of scoring goals at an absurd rate and with the ability to knock the life out of City’s opponents. That stood out today as Erling Haaland fired his team to a crucial win to continue his tremendous start to the new season.