Haaland does the things that others cannot do
Erling Haaland’s finish for Manchester City’s winning goal against Borussia Dortmund was reminiscent of a famous Johan Cruyff goal for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid in 1973 – labelled the impossible goal as he rose to volley the ball in at the far post.
More modern audiences might be reminded of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Not only is Haaland head and shoulders above those around him – quite literally – he shares that acrobatic ability to contort his limbs like a martial-arts expert, establishing angles that others cannot.
What is certain is that there are very few players in the game’s history capable of the moments that this young man continues to produce. Dortmund were once the beneficiaries of this extraordinary talent. On this night, they were the victims of it.
Haaland now has 13 goals in his last eight games for Manchester City. It is a freakish return and yet such is his brilliance one wonders whether such a high output might be sustainable. Not quite like this, perhaps, but City are not even finding him as they can right now.