Manchester City 'Cannot Rely' On Erling Haaland to Score Every Goal, Says Enzo Maresca Ahead of RB Leipzig Clash

Manchester City 'Cannot Rely' On Erling Haaland to Score Every Goal, Says Enzo Maresca Ahead of RB Leipzig Clash Erling Haaland will shoulder the majority of Manchester City's goalscoring burden in Leipzig on Wednesday night. After back-to-back Premier League defeats to Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion , which came either side of a Carabao Cup victory against the latter, Maresca will be hoping to straighten his side’s form on Wednesday against RB Leipzig. Despite questionable form domestically, Manchester City ’s UEFA Champions League run this season has provided significant hope amongst supporters. After beating FC Porto on the opening day of this season’s competition, City were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium but showed optimism in defeat that produced more positives than negatives. Then, at home again two weeks ago, Maresca guided his side to a cruising 5-1 victory over AEK Athens during a game wherein Phil Foden scored a scintillating hat-trick. In that game, Elliot Anderson also scored his maiden City goal before Rayan Cherki added his sixth goal of the 2026-27 season. We cannot rely on Haaland to score all of our goals, says Maresca While his scoring hasn’t slowed, it has been highlighted several times across the Norway international’s career that an over-reliance on him can cause issues for the club. Maresca admitted that it can be risky to rely on Haaland, particularly during a period in the season when his side are playing twice per week, but reiterated that he is “happy” if the forward is on the pitch. Speaking ahead of his side’s meeting with RB Leipzig, Maresca said: “For me, it's very important that in each game, we create chances. For sure, when you have Erling on the pitch, it's better because you know he's going to score goals and is always there. "At the same time, we cannot rely on Erling every game. We need the rest to also score goals. But in this moment, I think the last game against Brighton was the only game of the season when we didn't score. I think so anyway. But for sure, if Erling is on the pitch, we're happy.” Haaland has scored 13 goals for Manchester City this season and will look to continue chasing down records after overtaking Ruud van Nistelrooy to climb into seventh on the all-time UEFA Champions League scorers list. It has been a journey of records since his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, and when City beat Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate in the round of 16 in the Treble season, the Norway international broke another record. With a first-half hat-trick as part of a five-goal haul, Haaland joined Lionel Messi as the only players to score five times in a UEFA Champions League knockout stage game, and one of only three, alongside Luiz Adriano, to score five in any UEFA Champions League match. Yet, amidst City’s supposed over-reliance on the forward, Foden revealed that he can “keep growing and getting better” with more minutes and appearances. On whether he can score more regularly for Manchester City , Foden said: “Hopefully!" But when asked what the key to that is, the England international added: “Consistency, just keep playing regularly, being happy, positive and being in the right positions to score as well. "Hopefully, I can get back to that level. I think I'm slightly starting to get there now with my recent performances, so hopefully I just keep growing and keep getting better.” The Stockport-born forward is set to start against RB Leipzig in Germany on Wednesday night as the Blues look to return to winning ways after two consecutive Premier League defeats - and improve on a run of form that has seen them lose thrice in their last six games in all competitions.