Haaland was a 62nd minute in Sunday’s victory at Nottingham Forest, coming on with the game in the balance at 1-0 to City.
It was his first appearance in over two weeks having missed the FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea and the league defeat of Brighton through injury.
However, it took less than 10 minutes for the Norwegian to double our advantage after receiving the ball from Kevin De Bruyne.
Pep’s stats after 300 Premier League games
“We’ve seen that combination a few times already haven’t we?” said Dickov from the City Ground during our latest episode of Matchday Live.
“It was great to see Erling back on the pitch. It was good for him to get minutes. He looked sharp when he came on so maybe that niggle has given him a bit of rest will help him for the rest of the season now.
“It was a great ball by Kevin. Normally Haaland takes it on his left foot but he does the defender, drags it onto his right and a lovely little slot in the corner.”
Back in the studio in Manchester, Keith Curle said the introduction of Haaland was perfectly timed by Pep Guardiola.
“We needed a focal point. As well as City keep possession of the ball, sometimes you need a physical presence that you can hit,” he said.
“With Erling, he has got pace too. When you break lines with the pass, with his movement and his relationship with Kevin, he knows where he wants the ball.
“He’s a game changer. As soon as the second goal goes in, it’s a different mindset and mentality.”
Andy Morrison was alongside Curle in the studio and made it clear the impact Haaland has on opposition defenders.
“What the presence of Haaland does, is it just means the defenders drop another few yards,” he stated.
“If you look at the space that De Bruyne found, that’s because the centre halves have been pushed back.
“When it’s so tight, a couple of yards creates that space. He times the pass and Erling does the rest.
“I’m so pleased. Erling’s had some rest but there was a big smile on his face when he scored and then everything he did afterwards was meticulous.
“He never gave it away, he moved it and he pushed them back. That will be massive for the next four games.”
Matchday Live
Matchday Live is our FREE City-centric studio show live every single time Pep Guardiola‘s team take to the field.
Starting just before team news is revealed an hour before kick-off, City players past and present as well as familiar faces from days at the Etihad look ahead to that day’s game.
Once the game kicks off, you can follow the match via radio and text commentary before our studio guests return to analyse what they’ve seen.
Matchday Live is available on mancity.com and our official app for every single men’s first team game.
