Erling Haaland is back to business as per usual, a.k.a. breaking records left, right and centre — this time in the Champions League following Manchester City’s incredible comeback against RB Leipzig.
Haaland was one of three different names on the scoresheet during their 3-2 win over the Bundesliga side along with Stockport’s very own Phil Foden and fellow striker Julián Álvarez, and while both are becoming increasingly more prolific, it was the big blonde bagsman who got them on their way.
Scoring in the 54th minute to get things moving, the Norwegian number nine notched what was his 40th goal in the Champions League, becoming the quickest player to do so in just 35 games.
To put that in context of where he already ranks amongst the great goalscorers of years gone by, not only did he manage 40 goals in 35 appearances in the UCL but he also did it in a whole 10 games fewer than the next fastest, Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy. Unreal.
To be honest, Haaland broke so many records in his first year at the Etihad — such as most goals by a Man City player in a single campaign, most goals in a Premier League season and fastest to player to reach three hattricks, just to name a few — nothing really surprise us anymore.
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Now on 19 goals and four assists all told in the opening 20 games of 23/24 and well on course for a second consecutive golden boot, while we’ll have to wait and see if he can equal or better his incredible tally of 63 goal contributions in all competitions, if there’s anyone that can do it’s him.
Haaland’s inevitability and Pep Guardiola‘s other in-form forwards resulted in the Blues not only securing qualification for the knockout stages but a top spot finish in their group after already putting a whole six points between them and the German team with a game to spare.
As for domestically, the treble-winners will hope to put last weekend’s 1-1 draw against title rivals Liverpool behind them and notch a victory over Spurs whose impressive start to the season is now begin to stutter following a number of injuries and dip in form.
City sit in second place on 29 points and just one point behind league leaders Arsenal who face Wolves on Saturday after their own Champions League fixture against RC Lens on Wednesday night.
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It’s neck and neck as we barrel towards the Christmas period and, from a neutrals point of view, that’s what we love to see.
You can watch the full highlights of City’s fightback against Leipzig down below:
Featured Images — Man City (via Instagram)/Erling Haaland (via X)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
29th November 2023 
