Erling Haaland returned to the Signal Iduna Park to face his former side Borussia Dortmund in the blue of Manchester City last night.
It was a short cameo by his standards as he only featured for 45 minutes before being replaced by Bernardo Silva at the interval. The Norwegian not only failed to get on the scoresheet, but he did not register a shot on target whilst on the pitch.
He left Dortmund in the summer having racked up outstanding contributions for the side; 86 goals and 23 assists in 89 games. Haaland is already looking to outdo those numbers in England, having scored 22 goals and assisted three in 15 matches.
Erling Haaland's numbers are just ridiculous ? pic.twitter.com/p21MZBEhor
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 24, 2022
However, the German-filled backline of Dortmund’s defence were able to do what almost no other team can – keep Haaland quiet. The tie ended 0-0, which was enough to secure both sides their place in the knockout stages of the competition.
Pep Guardiola confirms reason for substitution
Post-match, the City manager was questioned on his decision to substitute Haaland. He said: “Three things, I saw him so tired. Second one, he had a bit of influenza in his body, like Joao (Cancelo), Joao played with a fever. And the third, he has a knock in his foot.”