Paul Merson has suggested that Everton would have beaten Manchester City “much easier” than they did with Erling Haaland.
City have not lost since playing Brighton on the last day of August. Since then, they have won seven games in all competitions.
This leaves them second in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Arsenal, and they are currently in the top five teams in the Champions League.
That’s mainly thanks to superstar striker Haaland. The Norwegian has scored in his last eight games for the club, taking his total to 15 goals in 11 games this term (11 in the league and four in the Champions League).
After scoring the opening goal in City’s UCL win over Villarreal on Tuesday, Merson suggested the Manchester side would not be anywhere near where they are without Haaland.
“I don’t think they’re letting their guard down. I don’t think they’re a top team at the moment,” he told Sky Sports.
“I watched the game between Everton and Man City on Saturday and if you had swapped Beto – and no offense to Beto – for Haaland, Everton would have won more easily than Man City won.
“And that was the difference. That’s very worrying.
“Players get older, players change. Kevin De Bruyne is gone. (Phil) Foden hasn’t reached the heights he had a few years ago. (Bernardo) Silva has gotten a little older. It all starts from there.”
“I can’t say their defense is great. I think the goalkeeper who just came in is a good goalkeeper, but we have to wait and see. He’s not the Ederson who creates chances from goal kicks.”
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👉 Erling Haaland’s outrageous stats that beat Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League goals tally
👉 Nicky Butt makes a U-turn on his prediction for the Premier League title, saying he has “terrible feelings towards Manchester City”
“Teams can now really step up Haaland because if it gets tight,[City]won’t hit the ball 70 yards over his head and he’s one-on-one with the goalkeeper.”
“Thanks to Haaland, they are still in the title race. But if you take Haaland out of the equation, it’s hard to see them finishing in the top four.”
In fact, after Haaland for City, no player in the league this season has scored more than one goal, and only a few have sat on one goal.
If Haaland is injured it could be significant for the Citizens, but for now they are thriving in the knowledge that he is shaping up to be a part of his life, having scored in the last 12 games between club and country.
Read more: Is Pep Guardiola smelling another Premier League title challenge?
