Haaland: 'I made it difficult for Man City against Coventry'

Erling Haaland blamed himself for wasting opportunities, causing Man City to face many difficulties before winning 1-0 against Coventry in the third round of the Premier League.

At Etihad Stadium on September 5, Haaland scored the only goal with a high rebound and header from Antoine Semenyo's cross. The Norwegian striker reached the mark of 300 goals at the club level after 368 matches, including 156 goals for Man City, 86 for Dortmund, 29 for RB Salzburg and 20 for Molde.

Haaland surpassed Kylian Mbappe (398 matches) and Cristiano Ronaldo (499 matches) in terms of speed to reach 300 goals. Lionel Messi is still the fastest to reach this milestone, after 365 matches.

However, the 26-year-old striker was not satisfied with wasting the opportunity. Against Coventry, Haaland had a shot blocked by goalkeeper Carl Rushworth in a face-off at the end of the first half and was denied a goal in the 58th minute for offside.

"I should have scored another goal to end the match early, but I couldn't. That made things more difficult for Man City, and helped Coventry still have a chance at the end of the match," Haaland told ESPN after the match. "In the Premier League, if you don't take advantage of opportunities, everything will be very unpredictable."

Man City spent about 609 million USD to reform the squad under Enzo Maresca. Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye both joined the club on the final day of the transfer window and were given the opportunity to start against Coventry, along with Elliot Anderson - another valuable rookie.

Fernandez was initially only registered on the bench. But after Nico O'Reilly was injured during the warm-up, the Argentine midfielder was included in the starting lineup. Ndiaye also left his mark in 87 minutes on the field when he often posed a danger on the wing.

Haaland assessed that Man City has recruited new recruits with enough experience and class to quickly adapt to a highly competitive environment. The Norwegian striker emphasized that Fernandez clearly understands the feeling of winning titles and playing in the Premier League, Anderson has also spent many years playing in this tournament and played for England at the 2026 World Cup, while Ndiaye impressed with his ability to dribble and gently handle opponents.

"We have brought in many players who understand the necessary level," Haaland said, and said that creating a cohesive team and helping new players feel welcome is an important factor for them to integrate quickly.

In this match, Man City overwhelmed Coventry in terms of possession, creating many opportunities to increase the gap after Haaland's opening goal. But the home team was wasteful and had to withstand the pressure in the last minutes. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made two excellent saves to preserve the victory. The 1-0 result helped Man City win all three of their first matches of the season and temporarily top the Premier League.

Maresca believes that this is a particularly valuable type of victory for Man City. "The main reason is that in nine out of ten matches of this type, you will have to concede a goal," he said. "If the score had been 2-0 at half-time, the game would have been completely different. We suffered together at the end of the game. Defending throw-ins, set pieces, that was good. Not every victory is beautiful. We need victories like this, in every way."

On September 8, Man City marched to Porto's stadium to play the opening match of the Champions League qualifying round.