On one level, the signing looked terrifying for the rest of the league. Manchester City has won four of the last five Premier League titles. It has been the top scorer in the Premier League in each of those five seasons. And to that side it added, for a bargain price of $60 million, Erling Haaland, a powerful and prolific 22-year-old widely recognized as the most promising young center forward in Europe. How could this not yield even more goals, even more success?
The answer, perhaps, came on Saturday in the Community Shield.