Cup finals are not Haaland's cup of tea

He's a sensational striker, no doubt about that. Brutal, too. He's been terrorizing Premier League defenders for the last 12 months like no one else, breaking decades-long goal-scoring records on the way.

That's the truth about Erling Haaland.

However, the truth is also that the Norweigan forward is struggling when it comes to those decisive cup finals. Since joining the Cityzens from Borussia Dortmund last year, Haaland played in five showdowns with his team and failed to score a single goal during the regular 90 minutes, including last night's UEFA Super Cup clash against Sevilla! Moreover, his assist column is also empty.

It all started in the FA Community Shield 3-1 final loss to Liverpool a year ago, as Julian Alvarez netted his side's only goal. The same happened recently when Pep Guardiola's suffered a penalty-shootout defeat against the Gunners, with Cole Palmer hitting the target for the Manchester-based team.

Between those two games, Haaland had a chance to demonstrate his peculiar skills in two more larger-than-life games but failed to do so on both occasions.

Firstly, he couldn't find the back of the net in the FA Cup final, which saw Manchester City defeat their city rival 2-1, thanks to Ilkay Gundogan's brace. Finally, it was the UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan when everyone expected to see Haaland's mean machine reaching its climax... Alas, there were no signs of him anywhere near the action, and Andre Onana's goal and Rodri bagged a winner.

Shoot-out favours the English! Sevilla is superb, but the Super Cup belongs to Manchester City

After so many (five) goalless finals for Haaland, it's fair to conclude those games are just not his cup of tea. To reach the very peak of the game, however, he ought to turn things around. Chances are waiting for him...