Patrice Evra gave his verdict on Erling Haaland start to life at Manchester City and believes Pep Guardiola has no excuse not to win the Champions League after signing the centre-forward he needed.
Haaland has scored 14 goals from 10 games in all competitions since joining from Borussia Dortmund over the summer, so Evra says the 22-year-old has given City what they were missing when they lost in the 2021 Champions League final.
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He told Betfair via Manchester Evening News: “City were winning the league without a striker, but in the Champions League they struggled. Now I feel like they have no excuse. When they lost that final against Chelsea, Guardiola decided to play without any striker. This won’t happen again.”
City failed to score in a strikerless formation as Chelsea won 1-0 at the Estádio do Dragão, but Evra feels they won’t struggle now they have Haaland as a focal point. The Norwegian international has scored or made an assist in every game for City this season, so it’s unlikely many teams will shut them out.
Guardiola has upgraded Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling with the signing of Haaland, but time will tell if it’s enough to win them the European crown.
In other news, Patrice Evra gives opinion on ‘killer’ Man City player
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