Haaland showed his value in both boxes against United and it was his crucial contributions that allowed City to take all three points.
The striker had nine touches of the ball in the opposition box and six in his own, showcasing his defensive capabilities as well as his ruthlessness in the final third.
At the start of the second half, when City were 1-0 up courtesy of Phil Foden’s headed goal, United were looking to restore parity and played a series of crosses into the box.
With each one, they could only find the head of Haaland, who made vital interceptions on each occasion.
In all, Haaland made a total of six clearances, including four with his head, with centre-back Ruben Dias the only City player to contribute more.
Once the spell of pressure was relieved, Haaland was summoned to the side of the pitch by Guardiola and the two men had an amicable discussion – the striker trotted back into his familiar position up front and seconds later doubled the advantage with a delightfully dinked finish.
Haaland showed he is human when he went round Altay Bayindir and somehow struck the post with a virtually open goal to aim at, but it did not deter him as he ran through to convert a composed second.
“A complete performance,” Foden said of his team-mate. “The way he held up the ball when we were struggling. He did everything. Defending, attacking, running in behind and doing the dirty work.
“It was a full shift and we need that more.”
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said Haaland “could have scored a few more”, adding on Sky Sports: “We know Haaland’s strengths. You have one of the best strikers in the world running from the halfway line and there was never any doubt he was going to finish it.
“You talk about a team player, you have to give him praise for coming back and doing a good job defensively.”
