What Man City star did before and after Erling Haaland goals speaks volumes

Manchester City could thank Erling Haaland for their win over Everton but his teammates helped to provide for the prolific Norwegian

Manchester City weren't great at home to Burnley last month in the Premier League. They went in level in a game they were expected to win and Pep Guardiola wanted more.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Nico O'Reilly delighted his manager by showing real intent and bursting into the opposition box. It came to nothing, but it set the standard for his teammates.

City were even worse in the first half against Everton, needing words from both Guardiola and the injured Rodri in the tunnel before the second half began and O'Reilly again set the tone. That picked the crowd up and City went from there.

It wasn't an immediate response from the team, but when they did rouse themselves it was no surprise that O'Reilly was at the heart of it. A powerful run down the left flank was followed by a pause to set himself and a perfect delivery for Erling Haaland to head home his 13th of the season.

Five minutes later, Haaland had a second and City had turned a stodgy showing into a good result that carries on their momentum with six wins and two draws from their last eight games. For a few hours at least, they were back on top of the Premier League table.

Nobody is knocking Haaland from the top of the goalscoring charts even if he doesn't play again after Christmas. Only twice before has anyone scored 10 goals from the first eight games of a Premier League season - and the Norwegian accounts for those as well.

The header for the first looked simple enough but he has definitely missed those before when heading has seemed a rare weakness. The celebrations were emphatic as he continues his obscenely good run, and a few minutes later the finish from Savinho's cutback was taken so quickly that even though it wasn't the cleanest it was through Pickford before he could set himself.

He can't do it all himself though if City are to have success, which is why the contributions of O'Reilly and others are so important. More goals are needed from everyone, but failing that feeding Haaland will certainly do for now.

Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Tijjani Reijnders all fell short of that again and Omar Marmoush will fancy his chances of an opportunity soon to stake a claim now he is back in the matchday squad.

With an attack that still isn't in sync, Gianluigi Donnarumma feels particularly important at the back. He earned the acclaim of his defenders once more for another performance where he was dominant when defending set-pieces.

It is just two goals conceded in five league games since he joined and what was seen as a madcap signing from Guardiola at the time is beginning to look like it could be one of his most inspired.

City still need to build on the platform that he provides though. That's why Haaland helps so much, and why O'Reilly proved to be so important.

With the game already won with 10 minutes to go, there was the City left-back flat on his back in Pickford's six-yard box after coming close to turning home Savinho's cross. It wouldn't have made any difference to the result, but it is exactly the level of effort that Guardiola wants to see from his players whatever the score.

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