Haaland relishing Grealish partnership after debut Man City goal
Man City's Erling Haaland (L) and Jack Grealish celebrate a goal against Bayern Munich, Green Bay, U.S., July 23, 2022. (AFP Photo)


Manchester City new signing Erling Haaland is thoroughly enjoying his blossoming partnership with Jack Grealish after the English winger helped him score his debut goal for the club.

The 22-year-old Norwegian, a signing from Borussia Dortmund, needed just 12 minutes to do what he does best, converting Grealish’s cross to secure a 1-0 friendly victory over Bayern Munich on a stormy Saturday evening at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

Haaland has already been impressed with the former Aston Villa playmaker, who has struggled to make the impact he might have hoped following his switch to the Etihad Stadium last August but is convinced there is much more to come from the pair.

He told Sky Sports: "He’s good. He has to get better, I have to get better, but good link. I like the vibe around him, so it’s going to be fun."

Haaland’s involvement in front of a crowd of almost 80,000 was limited to just 41 minutes on a night when kick-off was delayed because of an electrical storm and then play was paused for almost 45 minutes by another.

However, it did not take him long to demonstrate the prowess in which City have invested so heavily.

He said: "As you probably all know, I’ve been watching a lot of City games for the last years and the last years have been without a striker, so of course, I’ve been seeing myself in these kind of situations today, so I’m not surprised."

If results in preseason are largely incidental, this one carried a little more weight for Haaland after his time in the Bundesliga and ahead of Saturday’s Community Shield clash with Liverpool.

He said: "It was about time, I have to say, seven losses in a row, so to win against Bayern feels good.

"The quality is good and it was also good to play against Bayern to get a real test before Liverpool in the week."