Robot, machine, animal - all three vastly different things used to describe the ability of Erling Haaland since he joined Manchester City in the summer. However, the marauding Norwegian striker was proven to be very human at the weekend as Liverpool ran out 1-0 winners over the Citizens at Anfield.
It provided a potentially huge boost to three London clubs in Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, who are either side of the champions in the table. While it inflicted a first defeat of the season to Pep Guardiola and his side, it was also a game where Haaland failed to make an impact.
The 22-year-old has already scored 20 goals in all competitions so far this season, doing so in just 13 appearances. Liverpool's deeper defensive line stopped the striker having much joy in space behind to run into, while in the link play they managed to isolate him and deny many passages that involved the striker.
