Erling Haaland has jokingly revealed that he was angry with one of his Ayyoub Bouaddi even though he could not hide his administration for the performance of the new signing.
City eased to a 2-0 victory over Porto in their opening group-stage fixture, a result that offered further evidence that Enzo Maresca’s rebuilding project at the Etihad is beginning to take shape.
But it was the performance of teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, one of City’s newer additions, that dominated the post-match conversation.
Haaland: ‘We’ve got a gem there’
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the final whistle, Haaland was full of praise for Bouaddi’s display against the Portuguese side, revealing that the youngster’s talent had already caught the eye in training long before Tuesday’s fixture.
“I think he [Bouaddi] had a really good game,” Haaland said as reported by Mirror. “The last couple of weeks in training, I just told the chairman, he’s been amazing in training and everything.
“So I think we’ve got a gem there, to be honest. But I think he should have played me through during the second half. I was all alone.
“So I was a bit angry, and I will tell him right now. But he played a good game, except that pass.”
Haaland’s willingness to single out a young team-mate for such praise says as much about the striker’s own state of mind as it does about Bouaddi’s early impact.
Bouaddi’s introduction to Manchester City football has therefore begun with the kind of endorsement few players receive so early in their time at a club of this stature. The praise particularly came from a team-mate who has set such exacting standards himself since arriving at the Etihad.
Maresca demanding more from his squad
Haaland also used the interview to reflect on life under Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola as head coach and has wasted little time in setting out his expectations for the group.
The striker made clear that the standards being demanded of the squad, including of himself, are only going to increase as the Italian’s methods bed in.
“We have to learn, Enzo [Maresca] has to demand a lot from us. We have to demand a lot from each other,” Haaland said.
“And we have to win games, because at Man City you have to win games and win trophies, so that’s what we have to do at this club.”
It is a message that will resonate with supporters who have grown accustomed to success under Guardiola and will expect nothing less as the club enters a new chapter.
Maresca, who has built a reputation for possession-based, positionally disciplined football during his previous managerial spells, appears to be instilling that same demand for accountability among his senior players.
Tuesday’s win in Porto represented a solid, if unspectacular, start to the club’s Champions League campaign under the new head coach.
Two goals were enough to see off a Porto side who will have posed a stern early test of City’s credentials in Europe this season, and the manner in which several younger players integrated into the performance will have pleased Maresca as he continues to shape his squad in his own image.
