Kieffer Moore believes that Erling Haaland needed that first goal to get his Manchester City career off and running as his Bournemouth side travel to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Norwegian scored a brace on his Premier League debut as City breezed past West Ham United 2-0 at the London Stadium last weekend. Haaland was named as the Player of the Match for his performance as he ran the Hammers' back four ragged all game.
After missing a number of chances against Liverpool in the Community Shield, Haaland got off the mark with a penalty, before sliding home his second midway through the second-half after being played through by Kevin de Bruyne. It was a fine display from the 22-year-old and Cherries forward Moore does not think he will have any issues settling in to English football.
He said: "I have seen a lot of him throughout his career at Dortmund, and he is an exciting player. I think he needed that first goal to get going and he looked good after that.
"I think he is very well equipped for it, he is quick, he is strong, he is intelligent. It could work really well for him, especially with him being in such a good team at Man City as well."
How many goals will Erling Haaland score this season? Let us know in the comments below!
Bournemouth travel to Manchester off the back of an impressive opening day 2-0 win over Aston Villa, with Moore, like Haaland, finding the net on his Premier League debut. He struck in the 80th minute after Jefferson Lerma had given the Cherries the lead early on.
However, the Cherries arguably now face the toughest task in the division - a trip to City, who lost just twice on home turf last season. Pep Guardiola’s side scored 58 times in 19 league games at the Etihad - the most in the Premier League.
Looking ahead to his first-ever game against the reigning champions, Moore said: "It’s going to be a tough game, it won’t get much tougher without the ball, they are very good in possession. They try to manipulate teams and move teams around. We’ve been working diligently throughout pre-season and we will have a game plan."
He added: "It is all about emphasising what the coach wants you to do, it is a lot of hard work. It is a lot of intelligent thinking, positioning and stuff like that really."
The Cherries are winless in all 16 league meetings with Manchester City, the joint-most one side has faced another in the history of the Football League without winning, level with Halifax Town against Cardiff City, and Wrexham against Crystal Palace. However, Moore and his teammates will be hoping to change that feat this weekend.
