Erling Haaland isn’t a ‘game changer’ for Manchester City in the Premier League championship fight, according to Jamie Carragher, but he could be the guy to finally win them the Champions League.
This summer, City paid £51 million to recruit the superstar striker from Borussia Dortmund.
And Liverpool star Jamie Carragher believes that Haaland will have little impact on Man City’s domestic form because they have been dominant in the Premier League.
He does, however, believe that the Norwegian could be the key to eventually assisting Pep Guardiola in bringing European glory to City.
When asked if the signing of Haaland means Man City will win the league even more comfortably, Carragher told talkSPORT: “No, I don’t think so.
“I still think City are favourites, but I don’t think Haaland is a game changer for them in terms of winning the league.
“They win the league now and they already get 95 to 100 points – are they going to get 110?! There are only so many points you can win in a season.
“I think Haaland is almost the icing on the cake for the Champions League. If he’s playing away in Madrid, they don’t lose that game. I think that’s the difference he’ll make.
“I don’t think it’ll make a huge difference to the league because City are that good anyway.
“I think when you look at what Liverpool did to City and get to that level of 90-plus points, they bought Allison and van Dijk. They were game changers.
“They took Liverpool from a team who were getting 75 points, to a team looking to get 95 points. I think City are already at that level, so I don’t think it’s going to be like that for Haaland.
“But you’d think that with a great striker like him and the players he’s got around him, it gives them a great opportunity in the Champions League.”
Haaland scores in pre-season debut
Halaand would have had only one goal in mind after being given his debut: to score.
Kevin De Bruyne won the ball back, passed it through to Jack Grealish, who squared it to an outstretched Haaland for the tap-in.
Throughout the first half, Haaland appeared poised and aware of his surroundings, providing City with a fresh dimension to their play that has been lacking since the departure of club legend Sergio Agüero.
Haaland’s goal demonstrated real striker instinct – being in the right position at the right time – and, while it appeared to be an easy goal, it is probably the best a striker can score.