Pep Guardiola said one should always be careful when criticising strikers like Erling Haaland. All it takes, the Manchester City boss explained, is for them to score again and "shut your mouth". Lately, however, Haaland has been shutting mouths without scoring. Over the last year he has turned into the complete forward, an even more frightening prospect to opponents than he was before, and an even greater asset to City's hopes of winning a quadruple.

The audio between the referee and video assistant referee during Manchester City's disallowed goal at Liverpool earlier this month has been released. Rayan Cherki thought he had scored to make it 3-1 and cap a memorable victory for the Cityzens, but a scuffle between Dominik Szoboszlai and Erling Haaland saw the goal chalked off and the Hungarian dismissed.

Barcelona are reportedly preparing to shake the foundations of the European transfer market as they ready themselves for a monumental swoop. The Catalan giants, who have spent several seasons navigating a complex financial labyrinth, are now being linked with audacious moves for Manchester City’s goal-machine Erling Haaland and Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez.

Sergio Aguero has rubbished claims that Erling Haaland has been on a goalscoring slump, saying the Manchester City superstar has spoiled all football fans due to his ridiculous strike rate. Haaland struck 14 times in the opening 11 Premier League games of the season but has slowed down since, going eight matches without scoring in open play between December and February.

Nico O'Reilly continued his incredible season by powering Manchester City to a 2-1 win over Newcastle which cut the gap with Arsenal in the Premier League title race to just two points. O'Reilly scored a brilliant opener which was soon cancelled out by Lewis Hall. But City's homegrown midfielder restored his side's advantage with a well-taken header set up by a fine cross from Erling Haaland.