Manchester City is heavily dependent on Erling Haaland's scoring ability. The lack of a backup striker puts Enzo Maresca in a difficult situation if the Norwegian striker is absent.
Haaland continues to shine when scoring a double to help Man City defeat Porto 2-0 away in the Champions League opening match. These 2 goals raised the total number of goals scored by the 26-year-old striker to 167 for Man City, helping him rise to third place in the club's all-time scorer list.
In the Champions League, Haaland also has 36 goals for Man City, equal to Sergio Aguero's record. Including his time playing for Salzburg and Dortmund, he raised his total number of goals in the tournament to 59, surpassing Thomas Muller to rank seventh in the list of the best scorers in Champions League history.
These are numbers that show Haaland's special importance. Since starting his professional career at the age of 16 at Bryne, he has scored 304 goals in 390 club-level matches. This season alone, Haaland has 5 goals in 5 matches in all competitions for Man City.
But that dependence also creates problems for Maresca. When Haaland is healthy and maintains scoring efficiency, Man City is strong enough to compete in all competitions. Conversely, if the Norwegian striker loses form or has to rest, they almost have no direct replacement.
Since joining Man City from Dortmund before the 2022-2023 season, Haaland has only missed 23 matches in 4 seasons. However, his playing volume is increasing. Since participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in June 2025, Haaland has played 73 matches for both the club and the national team.
Omar Marmoush being loaned to Tottenham last month further makes Man City lack a backup plan for Haaland. Maresca may now have to use wingers like Antoine Semenyo, Iliman Ndiaye or Phil Foden in the center forward position when Haaland cannot play.
The problem is that these are not real center forwards. Arsenal have Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, Liverpool can push Cody Gakpo up to play center forward if Alexander Isak is absent, and Chelsea has recruited Danny Welbeck as a backup option for Joao Pedro.
Even Man United also has many options such as Bryan Mbeumo, Marcus Rashford or Matheus Cunha if Benjamin Sesko cannot play. Compared to direct competitors, The Citizens are lacking a plan for the most important position in attack.
In the match against Porto, this problem did not appear because Haaland continued to complete his task. He opened the score with a header in the second half before sealing the victory with a close-range tap-in in injury time.
In contrast to Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma is bringing many worries. The Italian goalkeeper appeared uncertain when handling the ball with his feet as well as resisting aerial balls. He almost made a serious mistake in the match against Coventry when he let the ball pass past his feet before rushing back to clear the ball right on the goal line.
Donnarumma then continued to have an unsafe handling against Porto when his missed clearance touched William Gomes and almost went into the net. If such mistakes continue, Donnarumma could become a big problem for Man City.
Man City's season is being shaped by Haaland's scoring ability. And Maresca certainly does not want that journey to be ruined by mistakes in goal.
