There are only three things guaranteed in life – death, tax and Erling Haaland scoring for Manchester City.
City already has 19 goals from the Norwegian star, and he will add two more during their season. FC Copenhagen: 5-0 ThumpingWednesday night
He needed just seven minutes to get his first as he swept in Joao Cancelo’s deflected cross with his weaker right foot.
His second came with his trusty left boot after Sergio Gomez’s volley was spilled straight into his path just after the half-hour mark.
Haaland, who went into the clash looking for his fourth home hat-trick, was denied another treble with Pep Guardiola hooking him off at half time – no doubt with one eye on City’s Premier League clash against Southampton on Saturday.
While the 22-year-old might be disappointed to not have more time on the pitch, he may appreciate the 45 minutes that were taken off the pitch for conserving his energy in preparation of a match which could see him break a new record.
Should he score against Saints, Haaland will beat Lionel Messi’s record of the most goals scored in consecutive matches under Guardiola – the pair both sharing the record at nine matches.
Haaland’s work was done but City’s wasn’t as the rest of the team got in on the act after the break.
After Davit Koholava scored, Riyad Maharez converted the penalty to make it 4-0 before Julian Alvarez secured the 5-0 win.
Few would argue in favor of it. Haaland being City’s player of the season so far but it was his mate Jack Grealish who stole the show.
Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, the England man was everywhere throughout the 90 minutes and tested Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara on multiple occasions.
Grealish was not able to win his Premier League title the first time he played, but it was one of struggle. He may be starting to turn the corner, however, as Grealish’s recent performances and signs against Copenhagen suggest.
Grealish, who was given the Player of the Match award by talkSPORT’s Micky Gray, also caught the eye of Guardiola.
Guardiola told BT Sport: “We played really well, in all departments. We were focused, both offensively and defensively. Many players played at an extremely high level.
“It’s the only way, everyone has to perform well, to help the team and to try to win game by game.
“He played unbelievably, Jack. The next step is to score goals!”
