Maresca calls for Manchester City goals beyond Haaland before RB Leipzig test

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has challenged the rest of his squad to share the goalscoring responsibility with Erling Haaland before their UEFA Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig.

Haaland has been the central figure in Manchester City’s attack since arriving at the club in 2022. The Norway forward has scored 175 goals in 209 appearances across all competitions, underlining his importance to the side.

He has also made a strong start to the current campaign, finding the net 13 times in 12 matches. Four of those goals have come in the UEFA Champions League. However, he was unable to score in Manchester City’s most recent match, a 1-0 Premier League defeat by Brighton and Hove Albion.

Maresca said creating opportunities remained the priority, while stressing that the team could not depend on Haaland in every match.

“It’s very important that in each game we create chances,” Maresca said at his pre-match press conference.

“For sure when you have Erling inside the pitch it’s better because you know he is going to score goals or be close. At the same time, we cannot rely on Erling for every game. We need the rest to score goals.

“But at the moment, the last game against Brighton was the only one where we didn’t score, I think so. For sure if Erling is in the pitch, we are happy and for sure we need the rest to score goals.”

Manchester City are 12th in the UEFA Champions League League Phase table, having collected two wins and a draw from their previous matches in this campaign.

Maresca also pointed to the depth available to him as the club continues competing across multiple fronts. Manchester City remain involved in all competitions and have 20 senior players available, with the manager describing the competition within the squad as a positive factor.

“We are in all the competitions,” added the Italian mentor.

“We have many games and at the same time we have 20 senior players, all of them very good so it’s good to have competition between them.

“We have so many games and so many good players. It’s not a short run. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.”