Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has praised Erling Haaland's evolution as a player and person, suggesting the striker has become a more complete figure since becoming a father two years ago, as the club prepares for a demanding Champions League opener against Porto on Tuesday.
Haaland has continued his prolific scoring form into the new campaign, netting three goals in City's first three Premier League matches. The Norwegian has claimed the league's golden boot in three of his four seasons since joining the club, and Maresca believes fatherhood has added a new dimension to his game and outlook.
"He's a man now. He's a dad," Maresca said. "When he arrived here he was not a dad and now he's a dad and life completely changes because the priority becomes his son. I'm happy for him because he was already top as a player and as a boy but now you can see that he is complete. He is a family man, he is still scoring goals so I'm very happy for him."
Despite his continued goal output, Haaland has played every minute of competitive football so far this season, also representing Norway during their run to the World Cup quarter-finals. Maresca acknowledged the growing physical toll this schedule can take and hinted that squad rotation may soon become necessary.
"It's not easy for Erling or for any of the players that play for club and international teams," the Italian coach explained. "I think it is normal that you may see these players start to be tired. So, it's correct to give them some rest. It can be one game out or one week away. It depends on which moment we are in but the priority is to allow the players to be good and happy. When you see them tired the risk of injury increases, and we need players who are 100%."
Should Haaland be given a breather against Porto, Maresca could turn to Antoine Semenyo as a central striking option, or deploy Phil Foden or Rayan Cherki in a false nine role. The manager highlighted the tactical flexibility both players offer in controlling games from advanced positions.
"There is always a gameplan and Rayan can drop a little bit to manage the tempo and the game," Maresca said. "We also need Rayan in the position to be dangerous – the last game against Coventry we made contact with him five or six times between the lines and created chances. It depends on the game... Phil can also do that – and the last pass between the lines is very good so we are lucky that we have two very good players that can do this."
City travel to a Porto side that enjoyed a stellar debut season under Francesco Farioli, who guided them to their 31st Primeira Liga title. The Portuguese club have made a perfect start to this campaign, collecting maximum points from their opening five league fixtures, and have lost just once in their last 14 or 15 European matches.
Asked whether City would enter the Estádio do Dragão as favourites, Maresca was cautious. "We are here to do our best," he said. "The game will dictate the favourite. This is a hard place to come. This season they started very good... so we are going to try our best and try to win the game."
The manager also flagged Porto's strength from set pieces as a key area of concern. "I know that Porto is very good in set pieces. I think it has become part of the game now so we need to do our best, defend in the right way, score goals as much as we can from set pieces because it's part of the game and you need to be perfect because all teams are prepared for that."
On the injury front, Maresca said Nico O'Reilly, who missed the recent 1-0 win over Coventry with a fitness issue, would "probably" be fit to face Porto. However, he remained uncertain about the availability of winger Jérémy Doku, who is also nursing an injury.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.