Erling Haaland and the importance of a real No 9 not a false one.
Plus renewed focus on head injuries. And why Spurs need to give peace, and set-piece, a chance.
When it mattered most, a No 9 mattered most. Manchester City’s No 9, Erling Haaland, delivered two clinical finishes against Tottenham Hotspur: the first from close range was a tribute to his clever movement and team-mates’ vision; and the second a nerveless penalty. Goals pay the rent, as the great commentator David Coleman once declaimed, and Haaland keeps putting deposits down on title deeds.
Spurs didn’t have a proper No 9, having lost Harry Kane last summer, and Heung-min Son’s failure to score when one-on-one with Stefan Ortega highlighted further the importance of a serial finisher. Son still has 17 goals from 33 Premier League games, some cutting in from the left, and their actual No 9, Richarlison, currently injured, has 11 from 28. But nothing compares to Haaland’s 25 goals from 29.
