“I’ll tell him now…” Erling Haaland makes a fun request to Ayyoub Bouaddi live on air after Man City’s win over Porto.
Erling Haaland made sure his new Manchester City teammate Ayyoub Bouaddi knew exactly how he felt about a missed pass during their first Champions League win against Porto.
Haaland scored both goals for City at the Estádio do Dragão, while manager Enzo Maresca gave teenage star Bouaddi his first start since joining from Lille.
The 18-year-old played really well in the midfield. Fans and experts loved his performance, but Haaland pointed out one moment in the second half that stood out.
After the game, Haaland spoke to Prime Video and shared his thoughts on Bouaddi and how he’s settling in at City. After talking about a chat with City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Haaland mentioned Bouaddi passing the ball left instead of passing to him on the right. It’s a mistake the young Morocco international probably won’t make again.
Haaland said, “He had a great game! In training, he’s been amazing—I even told the chairman. We’ve got a real talent here. But I think he should’ve played me through in the second half; I was all alone. I was a bit annoyed, so I’ll tell him that now—but he played well apart from that pass.”
Haaland’s known for being honest and pushing his teammates to do better. After a tough loss to Bodo/Glimt in January, he didn’t hold back. But this time, his comment was just a friendly tease to help Bouaddi settle in.
Maresca also praised Bouaddi after the game, telling Prime Video, “Oh my god! He never panicked; he was very good! His performance was amazing!”
Bouaddi got 71 touches alongside Enzo Fernandez in City’s new midfield, completed 98% of his passes, and won five duels. With Fernandez and Elliot Anderson, City hopes to smooth the transition after Rodri left for Barcelona.
The trio made up most of City’s summer spending: Fernandez cost £125m, Anderson £116m, and Bouaddi £86m.
City knew they needed to rebuild, and midfield was the perfect place to invest after strengthening defense and attack earlier with Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo.
When asked about the spending, Maresca joked, “We’re not the only ones! It is true, but I’m also reminded the club sold players for BIG money… *laughs* (a £150M net spend?) I can’t just spend that kind of money!”
For more, check out: Man City star Rayan Cherki’s priceless reaction to a surprise change on EA Sports FC 27.