It is unlikely to be this easy every week but in his first 78 minutes of Premier League action, Erling Haaland has quickly put those nonsense doubts following last weekend’s Community Shield to bed - and already given Manchester City an advantage in what is likely to be another down-to-the-wire title race.
The £51m signing scored in either half as Pep Guardiola’s team comfortably brushed aside West Ham United a day after Liverpool began their campaign with two points dropped on the other side of the capital.
For Haaland the only downside was that he could not complete his hat-trick, slapping his lap in frustration when being replaced in the 78th minute for Julian Alvarez having sent a pair of headers wide.
There will still be bumps along the way. Afternoons where he struggles to overpower defences with the ease displayed so regularly in the Bundesliga. But against opponents who looked flat apart from the opening two minutes, the Norwegian’s first taste of the English football proper was a sweet one.
"One week ago he could not adapt in the Premier League," Guardiola said afterwards. "Now he’s alongside Titi Henry, Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo."
Here is what stood out from the 22-year-old’s league debut.
The hold up man
The primary element that makes Haaland’s arrival so fascinating is learning to what degree City adapt to his skillset and how he tweaks his style to fit in Guardiola’s system. But meshing takes time and for all of the training ground work it is in the heat of battle where sharpness and familiarity are acquired.
It was far from an auspicious start as his first couple of Premier League touches, excusing the kick off, were deep within City’s half and with his back to goal. And while he did not drop so deep too often, the link-up play throughout was more aligned to a classical target man than any other instance during the Guardiola era.
But as the afternoon wore on there were clearer glimpses of why he his so highly-rated, why so many believe he can be a transformative presence and finally bring City European glory.
Haaland is, of course, far more than a lumbering presence up top looking to provide knock-downs and lay-offs for on-rushing technicians. But there were two notable quick exchanges that hinted at a significant shift in style.
The first came midway through the opening half when, fed by Jack Grealish, he required only one touch to find Ilkay Gundogan at 5 o’clock only for the German to stray offside on his way to
Then, immediately after the restart, Grealish galloped down the left and sought to play a one-two only for Haaland’s return to be cut out. It may not have come off but the intent spoke plenty.
Less free space
If City fans should expect more exchanges such as those, they are likely to see fewer rampaging runs forward compared to Haaland’s time in Germany, where according to those neatly clipped social media highlights packages he was given space to drive at terrified
Kurt Zouma and Ben Johnson - moved in to the centre owing to Craig Dawson, Nayef Aguerd being injured and Issa Diop not even in the squad with a move away expected - did a solid job of keeping the striker on a tight leash for about an hour. Well, before he then ran between them and on to De Bruyne’s through ball before finishing with precision.
Most Premier League defences will attempt to take a close approach, denying Haaland the space and time to accelerate. To drop off would be foolish. Then it is a question of whether he can find other ways to hurt them.
Work in the box
The first chance arrived with 20 minutes on the clock as Phil Foden sent a left-footed cross towards his head only for Haaland to glance wide.
But the penalty emanated from his own run towards goal, following a Gundogan pass, even if the manner of Alphonse Areola’s challenge was daft. The goalkeeper then dived the wrong way as the ball rolled comfortably into the bottom left corner.
A second, more difficult, headed opportunity arrived a few minutes after his second goal - the connection could have been cleaner but the angle was hardly in the position of maximum opportunity.
A hat-trick would have been the stuff of dreams as his dad, Alfie, and family watched from an away end that spent a portion of the second half taunting Roy Keane, sitting in a nearby outdoor TV studio.
But a double puts him ahead of the target set by his biggest admirers among the pundit class. Wayne Rooney, in this morning's Sunday Times, reckoned he can average a goal a game. Haaland can now draw a blank and still remain on track.
