Erling Haaland stole headlines for scoring a record-breaking 35th Premier League goal of the season against West Ham United – and his pre-match moment with Stefan Ortega shows just what a brilliant human being he is to boot.
Haaland’s remarkable goalscoring exploits continued last night, as he hit City’s second goal in a 3-0 win.
Nathan Ake had given City the lead, nodding in Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick.
And then Haaland got his customary goal, chipping Lukasz Fabianski after being played in by Jack Grealish.
It is a goal that will be replayed for many years. No player has ever hit 35 goals in a single Premier League season.
Haaland’s achievement is utterly phenomenal.
Everyone knew he would score goals in this team. But few really expected him to hit the ground running in England quite like this.
He is the most inevitable footballer on the planet, and that’s as much down to how hard he works as it is being surrounded by world-class players and a world-class manager.
The man deserves all the success he gets. Because not only is he hard-working – he is a brilliant human being.
The Athletic have produced a report today about the strike. And there is a line about a moment he had in the tunnel with City stopper Ortega ahead of kick-off last night.
They report: “The monitors in the Etihad press box displayed images from City’s in-house feed showing a handful of players congregating inside the tunnel.
“Haaland emerged from the back of the frame, out of the dressing room. His first instinct was to approach the lone figure of Ortega, taking a moment to offer him an encouraging word before his first league start.”
Ortega was something of a surprise inclusion last night, replacing Ederson between the sticks.
And he was great. No doubt those words from Haaland will have helped.
Erling Haaland is already a leader as report shares nice moment with Stefan Ortega
So not only is Haaland an amazing footballer, he is also a top human being.
The consensus about the Norwegian is often that he is ‘robotic’ and ‘ice cold’.
But clearly these things only relate to him on the pitch about his efficiency and ruthlessness.
The man is already a real leader. When City were warming up out on the pitch last night, you could see him going around to all his teammates and talking to them.
City have truly struck gold with the signing of Haaland.
