With 64 minutes gone at a chokingly hot London Stadium Erling Haaland killed this Premier League game with a goal that carried its own dreamy sense of deja vu. It was a goal that already felt like a repeat, like something emerging out of traces in the air, a bend in the space-time continuum. How many times has this happened, that rangy, slanted figure, veering in from the right, the sense of a familiar reel of film playing out?
Haaland’s second goal of this game, the second of his Premier League debut, felt like confirmation of the old truism. Knowing what your opponent is about to do is one thing. Actually being able to stop it is something else. And Haaland was very good in this 2-0 defeat of West Ham, really very good indeed after the clumsiness of the Community Shield game. Even better, he was good in a way that was entirely his own. Adaptation you say? Fine, yes, good. But how about we just score some goals first.
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