As complex as it has become, with its set-piece coaches and analytics teams and intricate tacticians within every team around the globe, soccer can sometimes be a simple game. For example, when you take one of the best young strikers since the turn of the century and put him in a team that creates goalscoring opportunities better than any other, you instantly have an unstoppable attacking force.
As young as Erling Haaland is (he turned just 22 in July), he has virtually every attribute you can ask for from a striker: pace, strength, intelligence and otherworldly finishing. And as powerful as Manchester City has been (four Premier League titles in five years), it has missed just one thing since Sergio Agüero started to decline after the 2018–19 season: a pure goalscorer to spearhead the attack.