Erling Haaland can bring a certain directness, on and off the pitch. He can scythe a way through defences and, after his most devastating display, cut through the official rhetoric from Manchester City with similar speed. He had just struck five times against RB Leipzig, becoming only the third player to score five goals in a Champions League game, when he came out and said City bought him to win the competition.
It wasn’t the party line, or something Pep Guardiola had ever admitted.
