Haaland's hunger knows no limits: the goal machine that not even Yellow Submarine could stop
Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 21.10.25. | 15:52
Villarreal can only hope for the best as Pep Guardiola's unstoppable striker hunts his 12th straight scoring game (10 pm)
For Erling Haaland, nothing else matters - not the venue, not the opponent, not the occasion. What drives him is simple: seeing the ball hit the back of the net. And lately, he's been doing it with terrifying frequency.
The Norwegian goal machine has been on fire since the start of the season, the spearhead of both Manchester City and his national team. In just 13 matches, he's scored an astonishing 23 goals - 11 in the Premier League, three in the Champions League, and nine in only two games for Norway!
That run of 11 consecutive matches with at least one goal tells the full story of his form. And as City prepare to face Villarreal (10 pm), few defenders will be sleeping easily tonight.
Still, Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral prefers to see the bright side.
"I just hope this won't be his 12th straight game scoring," he smiled. "If I say he's the best No.9 in the world, I won't be saying anything new. But we want to face players like him - that's what football is about. We'd rather be here, competing, than sitting at home. To stop Haaland, we'll need to be perfect."
Marcelino knows the task ahead.
"We must make sure Haaland gets the ball as little as possible," he added. "But he can score with one or two touches - that's how dangerous he is. Hopefully, tonight is the night he doesn't find the net."
Villarreal, he says, will need a flawless game to stand a chance.
"We expect real difficulties, just like against Juventus," said the Spanish coach. "We're up against a former European champion - we've earned that privilege. We'll enjoy it even as we suffer. Matches like this make us grow as a team. What we need is efficiency - avoid mistakes at the back, be decisive up front. Every small error gets punished at this level."
On the other side, Manchester City arrive in strong form - six wins and two draws in their last eight games across all competitions - and Pep Guardiola believes his side is climbing back to its best.
"In the last month and a half, everything has gone up a level," said the Catalan coach. "We're in a good place again - I feel we can achieve big things."
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic played at the weekend but is unlikely to feature again so soon, with Nicolas Gonzalez expected to start in midfield. Rayan Ait-Nouri is close to full fitness, while Abdukodir Khusanov remains sidelined with an ankle issue. Rodri is recovering from a hamstring injury, so he won't feature either.
Guardiola, however, didn't hide his respect for Marcelino.
"Even if you didn't know he was the coach, you'd recognise his teams by how they play," said Pep. "Getting Villarreal back into the Champions League in La Liga is an incredible achievement. I admire him a lot. But we're in good form - scoring plenty, creating chances, and defending well. Still, this will be an important test."
The Yellow Submarine, meanwhile, are short at the back: defenders Logan Costa and Pau Cabanes are out, Willy Kambwala is sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Juan Foyth also misses out through a thigh problem.
Haaland doesn't care who's missing or who's marking him, though - he just wants to score. And right now, stopping him looks like football's hardest job.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 3
Tuesday
19.45: (1.22) Barcelona (7.30) Olympiakos (14.0)
19.45: (3.15) Kairat Almaty (3.25) Paphos (2.50)
22.00: (1.62) Arsenal (4.15) Atl.Madrid (6.00)
22.00: (4.50) Copenhagen (3.80) Dortmund (1.80)
22.00: (5.05) Leverkusen (4.30) PSG (1.67)
22.00: (1.67) Newcastle (4.20) Benfica (5.45)
22.00: (3.10) PSV (3.60) Napoli (2.35)
22.00: (4.65) St.Gilloise (3.85) Inter (1.80)
22.00: (4.55) Villareal (4.10) Man.City (1.80)
Wednesday
19.45: (1.35) Ath.Bilbao (5.50) Qarabag (10.0)
19.45: (1.57) Galatasaray (4.10) Bodo (5.80)
22.00: (1.45) Atalanta (4.50) Slavia Praha (7.00)
22.00: (1.18) Bayern (7.75) Club Brugge (13.0)
22.00: (1.25) Chelsea (6.50) Ajax (10.5)
22.00: (5.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (4.70) Liverpool (1.63)
22.00: (2.90) Monaco (3.45) Tottenham (2.40)
22.00: (1.48) Real Madrid (4.50) Juventus (6.75)
22.00: (2.25) Sporting (3.80) Olympique Marseille (3.15)
***odds are subject to change***
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