Pep Guardiola makes Man City demand as he hopes Erling Haaland example can rub off on teammates

18.09.2022 - 10:53 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

When Erling Haaland stretched to try and convert Kevin De Bruyne's low cross inside the first minute at Molineux, it looked briefly like Manchester City's deadly combination was going to be denied.

But as the ball whizzed past Haaland it was converted by City's 'second wave' of penalty box attackers, with Jack Grealish right behind the Norwegian to make sure he did finish off the chance from six yards.

Sure enough, Haaland didn't have to wait long for his customary goal, firing home from 20 yards to prove he is more than just a tap-in merchant, and Phil Foden rounded off the scoring with a close-range finish in the second half.

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The three goals they scored against Wolves took City to 23 for the season in seven Premier League games, with Haaland claiming 11 of them. His instincts around the box have fitted like a hand in a glove to a team that plays most of their football in that area of the pitch.

His ruthless desire for goals could yet be beneficial to his teammates as well, however. Haaland looks like a goalscorer who will never be satisfied. When he failed to take Julian Alavarez's through ball into his stride late in the game he was still reproaching himself over a missed opportunity several seconds later.

Grealish's goal was his first of the season and only his seventh in 43 games for City. Speaking to broadcasters on the pitch after the win at Wolves he admitted he had never scored enough goals in his career, something he's now keen to put right.

His poaching instincts were on show against Wolves and Guardiola knows that the goalscoring burden has to be spread around, despite Haaland's record-breaking heroics. On Saturday he became the first player to score in