Erling Haaland opened his Champions League account for Manchester City with a tidy brace in their 4-0 Group G opening win over Sevilla on Tuesday night.
The Norwegian striker took his tally to 12 for the season after just seven games and now already scored 25 goals in 20 Champions League games in his career — the fastest player ever to reach the milestone in the competition.
It’s the start of what City will hope is a triumphant campaign for them in Europe, given their much-publicised struggles in the Champions League. The arrival of Haaland has made them favourites to finally lift the trophy this time around, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
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After bagging his first Champions League goals for City, Haaland took to Twitter to share a defiant message. “The #UCL is back and I love it!” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Manuel Akanji made his club debut following his deadline day arrival from Borussia Dortmund. The centre-back missed the draw with Aston Villa on Saturday due to his wife giving birth to their second child.
Julian Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips made their Champions League bow from the bench, the latter writing on Instagram after his return from injury: “Good to be back on the pitch tonight. Loved my #UCL debut.”
Sergio Gomez featured in the competition for the first time as a City player too. Also taking to Instagram after the game, he said: “A great night.” Meanwhile, Phil Foden sent a happy message on the platform following his man of the match performance.
“It feels mint to be back playing in the Champions League!” he said. “So pleased to have got my 10th CL goal and my 47th for City. Cheers for all the support.”
Kevin De Bruyne, who wore the armband while Ilkay Gundogan sat on the bench for the first 62 minutes of the contest, added: “Solid start to the new campaign. Nice away win in Seville.”
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