Man City stars pay tribute to Erling Haaland after touching pre-match gesture

Erling Haaland was hailed a “machine” by Manchester City team-mate Jack Grealish after the striker's latest goalscoring masterclass.

Haaland's first-half double took his goal tally for City to 99 in 103 games and underlined his status as the world's deadliest finisher.

His brace saw City come from behind to beat Brentford - who led after 22 seconds - and maintain their winning start to the season, with the champions in their customary place at the top of the table.

The season may only be four games old, but already there is a sense of inevitability about the title race, with Pep Guardiola's side seeking a record-extending fifth straight title triumph.

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City's recent success may hang under a cloud of suspicion, with their hearing into alleged financial wrongdoing starting today, but on the pitch there is no doubting the legitimacy of their brilliance.

In Haaland, they have a player of peerless physical and mental resilience, the 24-year-old producing his best again, despite the loss of a close family friend in the week leading up to the game.

Haaland was determined to play, despite the passing of close family friend Ivar Eggja, and took his goal tally for the season to nine from just four games in the process.

City's players showed their compassion for Haaland and his family by sending flowers to his box at the Etihad Stadium before the game, in a collective show of sympathy.

Haaland was unlucky not to plunder a third successive hat-trick after a series of chances came his way in the second-half, including one that came off a post.

Paying tribute to Haaland, Grealish said: “It’s unbelievable. That's nine now this season, I think that’s more than my best tally in the Premier League and he’s done it after four games!

“He’s an unbelievable player, an unbelievable person. He gets everything he deserves because he works so hard on and off the pitch.

“He’s just an absolute machine in front of goal and I can’t speak highly enough of him.

“We all know that he’s had a difficult week, him and his family. I send all my love to them. It does speak volumes about him as a person and his mental strength.

“To come out there today and perform like that and score two goals for us to get the win, I’m sure it’s everything that is family would have wanted. I can’t speak highly enough of him for that.”

City defender Manuel Akanji echoed Grealish and said: “He’s been scoring so many goals for us since he joined, but I think this season he is more involved in the games.‌

“He’s holding up the ball really well for the team, but also has nine goals in four Premier League games.

“I just hope he keeps scoring like this, because he’s a really good help for us, even when it’s a tougher game. We just have to do our job in defence and know the guys up front will help us. I hope he can keep going.”

On the players sending flowers to Haaland and his family, Akanji said it was a measure of the closeness between City's players and the club as a whole.

“I mean, that’s what a team is for - we stick together and try to help each other out,” said Akanji.

“It was Erling at this moment, but we try to help each other out, to lift each other. It’s not just the team-mates, it’s the whole club.”

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