‘Haaland like an 18-year-old playing in the under 12s’

Mike Minay, BBC Radio Manchester

The former Manchester City goalkeeper Nicky Weaver was part of our coverage yesterday on BBC Radio Manchester.

It was hard not to talk about Erling Haaland post-match, with Nicky in awe of the 22-year-old. His comment on the physical presence that the Norwegian offers was that he was like an 18-year-old playing in an under-12 side.

“He’s like a superhero,” Weaver said. “If he had a mask and a cape on he’d be like batman. He’s taking his numbers to another level. We’ve seen Rooney, Henry, and Owen but he’s on another planet to them. I dread to think how many goals he’ll get.

“Things like this is once in a lifetime. I don’t know how you defend against him.”

There were questions over whether Haaland could hit the ground running when he joined City. Nobody could have predicted 14 goals in eight games, three hat-tricks and a current predicted goal tally of 66 goals this season.

“Once he’s grown up and settled in, what’s he going to be like?” Weaver joked.

Hear more reaction to Sunday’s derby win here