To absolutely no one’s surprise, Manchester City began their Champions League campaign by swatting aside Sevilla in a 4-0 victory.
A struggling Sevilla side posed no real threat for the visitors, who made it look far too easy at times.
On the scoresheet were Phil Foden, Ruben Dias, and of course the usual suspect, Erling Haaland.
The goal-scoring machine was well-calibrated on the night, as he picked up a brace, after converting from close range for both goals.
The game marked his debut for City in the Champions League, and the fact that this is only the beginning is certainly a frightening prospect for other UCL candidates.
The Norwegian’s goal-scoring rate is hitting ridiculous levels at this point, as he now has 12 goals in his 7 games for City.
For even the most elite of strikers, netting in every game is an expectation, for Haaland however, it is almost a certainty.
His goals on the night were certainly neat bonuses for Citizens that travelled out to Seville.
But that wasn’t the only party Haaland wanted to score for.
After the game, the striker took to Instagram and posted a story, through which fans learned about a rather unlikely friendship, but a seemingly prominent one.
The picture looks to have been captured inside the Real Betis dressing room, who happen to be Sevilla’s historic rivals.
The locker of Betis Captain Joaquin Sanchez is particularly in focus, alongside a caption in Spanish that reads, ‘I hope the legend is happy today.’
With Haaland seemingly dedicating his goals to the 41-year-old, fans dug deep into the archives and unearthed a friendship which has flown under the radar until now.
As it turns out, Haaland and Sanchez have been unlikely mates ever since meeting up while vacationing in Marbella.
They developed a bond during the trip, and as seen in this clip the banter between them is pretty solid.
Haaland’s laugh as Joaquin talks about Betis having no space for him is simply brilliant.
Additionally, the discovery also reveals that Haaland is fluent in Spanish, which certainly would’ve helped in the two becoming buddies.
The duo are still clearly on great terms, after all, Haaland just gave the Spaniard a pretty nifty present.
The camaraderie between players is always excellent to see, especially in unpredictable cases such as these.
Needless to say, we’re eagerly looking forward to more Haaland x Joaquin content.