Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Erling Haaland has been magnificent in his first season at the Etihad. The Norwegian international was signed from German giants Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022. The transfer fee of just over £50m sounded like good value at the time - less than a year later, it's looking like being one of the greatest signings in the history of the sport!
City currently lie 2nd in the Premier League table, 5 points behind surprise leaders Arsenal with 11 games remaining. As much as the current Champions want to retain their title, the club's primary focus this year is the Champions League.
The English champions were drawn in a tough group consisting of Dortmund, Sevilla of Spain and FC Copenhagen from Denmark. Despite the strength of the opposition on paper, City won their group with ease, finishing top with 14 points from 18 available. The fixture Gods drew Haaland against his former employers and fans who make football predictions will not be surprised to see that it was Haaland himself who scored the winner against them with six minutes to go at the Etihad.
The Round of 16 saw Man City handed a tricky tie against German side RB Leipzig. The Germans finished second in their group, just one point behind group winners Real Madrid. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw at the Red Bull Arena. In the second leg, Haaland blew Leipzig away with a stunning performance. The Norwegian netted 5 goals in the match, headlining a 7-0 victory which saw City sail into the quarter-finals.
City have been drawn against German giants Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. The first leg will be played at the Etihad with the return leg at the Allianz Arena a week later. If they can overcome Bayern, they will face a 2-legged semi-final against either Chelsea or Real Madrid before the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in June.
Man City fans will hope that Haaland can retain his fine start to the season for many years to come. People are already talking about the 22 year old breaking the club's all-time goal record, which is currently held by Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero who netted 260 goals in 389 matches. He has already broken the club record for goals scored in a single season - amassing 39 strikes before the middle of March!
His current strike rate of 1.114 goals per game is significantly better than Aguero's 0.668. At his current rate, he'd break Aguero's record in just 234 games - over 150 matches fewer than the current record-holder.
Man City are probably Haaland's best chance of silverware on a global scale. He has represented Norway since he was 14 years old and has averaged almost a goal every game since he was called up to the senior team in 2019. His 21 goals in 23 games put him joint 8th on Norway's all-time record scorer list. Just 3 more goals for the national team will see him overtake legends such as John Carew, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Tore Andre Flo. Another dozen and he'll be the country's record-holder.
Norway's poor record at international level means the Champions League is the biggest trophy he's ever realistically likely to win - you can be sure he'll be fit and raring to go when city play Bayern in early April.
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My daughter's first ever football match - Orlando City v Atlanta United, August 2019. Written for Izzy to read when she gets old enough. Vamos Orlando