Erling Haaland gives emphatic response to Pep Guardiola in Man City win

Erling Haaland started and Erling Haaland finished. Twice, actually.

Manchester City's top scorer scored another two to down Young Boys in a game that he really didn't need to start. That he did, and produced what he did, says a lot about him and the team that he represents.

The biggest talking point before the game had been whether Haaland would start. Having only managed 45 minutes of the Premier League game against Bournemouth on Saturday before being taken off, questions over a player who has had fitness issues before sprang right back to the top of the agenda - for club and for country. And with City so well placed in their Champions League group already, anyone looking to protect the striker would have wrapped him up for Sunday's testing trip to Stamford Bridge.

ALSO READ: City player ratings as Stones and Haaland star

ALSO READ: Man City vs Young Boys as it happened

Pep Guardiola, and Haaland, have not got where they are by playing it safe though. Haaland was fit enough to train on Monday with the group, Guardiola was happy enough to play him from the start against Young Boys, and Haaland responded with a penalty and only his third-ever goal for the club from outside the box. It's now 15 from 16 this season in a campaign that he was slow to start up in.

It may be that Guardiola wanted to make the point about the importance of Champions League qualification. He has spoken enough times about the prestige that it brings and wrote proudly in his programme notes about the chance to make it 11 straight group stage progressions for the club in this competition.

There is also the matter of the pursuit of multiple trophies. City and their manager know a thing or two about that, and wrapping up this group with two