Erling Haaland believes Manchester City have found a new weapon in their bid to dethrone Premier League champions Arsenal, following a 2-0 Champions League victory over Porto. Haaland scored both goals, and singled out 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for special praise, calling him a 'gem' after his impressive first start for the club.
Haaland double secures Champions League win
After a goalless first half, Haaland gave City the lead with a 47th-minute header. The Norwegian striker then sealed the win with a second goal in injury time, taking his tally for the club to 36 Champions League goals in just 40 appearances.
The win was a strong start to City's European campaign, but it was the performance of new signings that provided the most encouragement. Enzo Fernandez impressed following his £125m move from Chelsea, while £86m signing Ayyoub Bouaddi thrived on his first start for the club.
Bouaddi impresses on first start
Bouaddi, a Morocco international, only joined City two weeks ago but has already made a significant impression. Haaland revealed he had told the club's chairman that Bouaddi had been 'amazing' in training.
'I think he played a very good game,' Haaland said of Bouaddi, who was linked with several Premier League clubs before joining City. 'Last couple of weeks in training, I told the chairman that he has been amazing, so I think we have a gem here.'
Haaland did, however, have one minor criticism. 'But to be honest, I think he should of played me through in the second half when I was all alone. I was a bit angry, so I will tell him right now, he played a good game, except that pass!'
Maresca praises 'unbelievable' performance
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca also praised Bouaddi, describing his performance against Porto as 'unbelievable'. 'The good thing is that from Erling [Haaland], Ruben [Dias], Mateo [Kovacic] you expect how to manage this game but Ayyoub was never in panic,' Maresca told Amazon Prime. 'He was very good and I think the performance was unbelievable.'
Discussing the win more generally, the ex-Chelsea manager added: 'I think we could've scored more goals, especially in the first half but overall I think we deserved to win the game. We created enough chances to win the game. We didn't concede a lot. It's normal to come here and concede some chances because it's normal, so overall happy with the performance. I think I am lucky because all the squad is good players, for a manager it is easy because you can give minutes to all of them, and tonight I think the guys that were inside were very good.'
Haaland was also pleased with City's display in Portugal, saying: 'It was a difficult fight, man against man. They are a top team, honestly they are impressive. They play amazing football so well done to them, but with all the pressure [on us] we had to deliver on the biggest stage. That's what we did today.'
Manchester City suffered a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield last month but have not put a foot wrong since the season started. City will look to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League campaign on Sunday when they travel to Old Trafford to face rivals Manchester United.
