Erling Haaland wasted little time making his first appearance in Manchester.
The Norwegian striker scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s one-sided 6-3 win over rivals United in 2022, signaling to the rest of England and Europe just how dangerous he is alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil. Foden.
Now in just his second season at the club, Haaland hasn’t played a huge number of Manchester games but his record in this game still makes for very interesting reading.
Here is Haaland’s overall record against Manchester United since joining Man City.
Haaland has destroyed almost every opponent he has faced since joining City in the summer of 2022 and United are one of the teams he has managed to score against.
He has already played three games against Man Utd, but only one of them has resulted in a goal for the Norwegian.
Manchester City 6-3 Manchester United (Premier League) – 2 October 2022
Haaland got on the scoresheet against Man Utd / Laurence Griffiths/GettyImages
Haaland’s first game against the team he came close to joining when Ole Gunnar Solskjær was in charge saw him rubbing salt into the wounds of Man Utd fans.
It was a troubled day for the Red Devils, as the scoreline ended much milder at 6-3 after trailing 6-1 with less than ten minutes remaining. Haaland scored three of City’s six goals.
His first goal was a header from a corner that Tyrell Malacia couldn’t keep from going over the line to put City 2-0 up before Haaland made it 3-0 with a volley from Kevin De Bruyne’s superb pass.
The hat trick was complete when he headed over from close range to make it 5-1 to Pep Guardiola.
Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City (Premier League) – 14 January 2023
Haaland’s first game at Old Trafford was poor / Michael Regan/GettyImages
Given what he did in the first meeting of the season, Man Utd supporters were understandably concerned that Haaland and Man City were rocking up at Old Trafford.
It turned out there was a lot less to fear this time. City took the lead through Jack Grealish, but goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford secured victory for the Red Devils.
As for Haaland, he was virtually anonymous throughout the competition. He had two shots in the entire game, neither of which were on target, and touched the ball just 19 times with an xG of 0.2.
It was a game to forget and one that accelerated the narrative that he disappears in big games.
Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United (FA Cup Final) – 3 June 2023
Erling Haaland drew a blank in the FA Cup final / James Gill – Danehouse/GettyImages
The last game at home for both these teams, Man City lifted the FA Cup but not with much help from Haaland. His performance in this game was not so different from other 2022/23 Premier League fixtures.
The Norwegian had three shots in the final at Wembley, two of which were on target. He was menacing but he was nothing like his usual self. It was Ilkay Gundogan who stole the show, scoring twice and securing the second trophy in Man City’s treble.
At the moment, Haaland’s record against Man Utd looks very respectable, but what matters is that all those goals and assists came in one game.
There is little more Man City fans can expect from Haaland, but they would love to see him score more against Manchester United this season and beyond.
Man Utd is the top six side that Haaland has had the most joy against in his career, with Arsenal in second place after scoring twice against Arsenal.
He has failed to register a goal or assist against Chelsea or Liverpool so far, although he has faced Liverpool only once. It’s a part of his game that needs to be addressed, but the goals definitely come at a good time.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, it could be a very different story.
Opponent
Games
Objectives
Assistants
Man Utd
3
3
2
Arsenal
3
2
2
Tottenham
2
1
0
Chelsea
2
0
0
Liverpool
1
0
0
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