Erling Haaland reaches 300th goal as Manchester City beat Coventry

MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland scored the 300th goal of his club career, propelling Manchester City to a perfect start with a 1-0 win over Coventry here at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The Norway striker’s 26th-minute header proved decisive as City maintained their 100% record under new manager Enzo Maresca and stayed top of the Premier League.

Haaland reached the milestone in just 384 appearances, with his goals coming during spells at Molde, Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City.

He is slightly behind Lionel Messi, who reached 300 club goals in 365 appearances, but ahead of Kylian Mbappe, who took 398 matches, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who needed 499.

Despite securing the victory, Haaland admitted he should have scored more goals to make the result more comfortable.

"I should have scored more goals to finish the game off but I didn't so I made it difficult for the team and managed to keep Coventry in the game until the end," he told Renato Senise.

"In the Premier League if you don't execute it will be difficult."

Haaland has now scored three goals in his last two games, giving Maresca another reason to be optimistic about City's new era following Pep Guardiola's departure.

City's summer spending continued until deadline day, with Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye joining the squad. Both started against Coventry alongside Elliot Anderson.

"I think we brought in plenty of players who know the level," Haaland said.

"Enzo Fernández knows how it is to win things and play in the Premier League. He will go straight into the team, same with Elliot, he played in the Premier League for a long time and he played for England with the national team so he knows how it is to play for a top team."

City are three points clear of defending champions Arsenal, who face Chelsea on Sunday.