Erling Haaland goal stats: Man City star 7-4 to be Champions League top scorer

A mad five minutes in the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid in May saw Manchester City's Champions League dreams go up in smoke once more but Pep Guardiola will hope he has an ace up his sleeve this time around in striker Erling Haaland.

While the 2022-23 group-stage draw threw up several talking points, Group G in particular caught the eye as the Citizens were drawn alongside Haaland's former club Borussia Dortmund, who he is expected to line up against at the Etihad on Wednesday evening.

Haaland spent two and a half years at Signal Iduna Park, scoring 62 goals in 67 Bundesliga appearances and 15 goals in 13 Champions League starts before making his high-profile move to Manchester in the summer.

City are 5-2 favourites to finally land the Champions League this season, but while many believe that Haaland could be the last piece of the puzzle, Guardiola was quick to remind us that the striker won't be able to do it all on his own after last week's opening win over Sevilla.

Haaland, meanwhile, labelled his new manager as "a football freak" in an interview over the weekend, a somewhat ironic comment as the same moniker has frequently been used to describe the Norwegian following his red-hot start to the season.

A brace in the 4-0 triumph against Sevilla saw Haaland begin his European campaign with a bang - and saw him trimmed to 7-4 to be Champions League top goalscorer - while in the Premier League the former Dortmund forward has been relentless.

Ten goals in 481 minutes playing for a new team in a new league is a remarkable introduction for the striker, who is just 2-7 to claim the Premier League Golden Boot.

He has registered the joint-most shots on target at 15 alongside Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serb has forced more attempts overall at 27 to his 25 but from an efficiency point of view the City man sets the gold standard.

There had been some question marks as to how Haaland would settle in under Guardiola, who is renowned for being happy to play without a natural number nine, and it has not been perfect.

City have twice trailed by two goals, dropped points at Newcastle and Aston Villa, and are level on points with Spurs, one behind leaders Arsenal.

Against Bournemouth - the only Premier League match in which Haaland has failed to score - he managed just eight touches, although one of those was his only assist in a City shirt so even when he is quiet in front of goal there are other aspects to his play.

Haaland has had only 132 touches in this season's Premier League according to the official website, which is easily the fewest of City's usual starters. For comparison, goalkeeper Ederson has 208 and midfielder Rodri tops the charts with 640.

Haaland's presence will no doubt strike fear into his former teammates on Wednesday. He might not touch the ball frequently but when he does it usually counts.

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