Omar Marmoush started up top in the defeat to Leverkusen, and it took 65 minutes until Guardiola threw in the towel and replaced him with Haaland. The Egyptian did very little, not having a single shot, creating zero chances, and having just three touches in the opposition box.

Manchester City secured a 2-0 win against Villarreal in their third match of the 2025/26 on October 21 at Estadi de la Ceramica. Erling Haaland found the back of the net for Man City just 17 minutes into the clash after being set up by Rico Lewis.