On 23 August, when Tottenham Hotspur visited the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland did not score. It was notable then. It is still more so now. It is the only game this season in which he played, for either club or country, when he has not found the net, the only one since May that he has started but not scored in.
Haaland’s goals can seem one of the great footballing certainties. Manchester City and Norway can revel in the predictability of it all. Opponents may end up resigned to the inevitability of it all. The chants of his surname can sound like a particularly ominous Viking war cry. It is a warning, a prophecy: Haaland will be on the scoresheet as well as their lips.
