Swindon Town and Cristiano Ronaldo debunk theories over Erling Haaland at Man City

Manchester City are so good at football that the lack of jeopardy in most games can leave some not even wanting to watch. As an exasperated Virgil van Dijk said as Liverpool unsuccessfully tried to reel them in this season: "[City] are unstoppable. They score five each game. Every time you get hopeful they score five minutes later."

With four Premier League titles in the last five years, news that Pep Guardiola's side have added Erling Haaland to their squad for next season seems to tip the scales even more in their favour. Those that already think City are boring have aired their concerns and apathy over City signing one of the most exciting players in world football.

Those people are in the minority about City being boring and are even more in the minority about Haaland. Of all the examples that could be plucked, a trip back to Swindon in January this year helps to neatly illustrate this.

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Guardiola's team (or assistant coach Rodolfo Borrell's team, technically, owing to Covid) was good enough to win a Premier League game and thus far too strong for the League Two side. Bernardo Silva scored in the 14th minute to kill any hopes of an upset and City could afford to miss a penalty and still win 4-1.

Swindon fans remembering the game will care less about the expected defeat, however, and more about how they got to see a team of superstars - and watch their own players take the game to them and score against them. There was a buzz at the ground for hours before kick-off, hundreds queued up to heckle the City players getting off their team bus and thousands then roared the home side on in the game.

That may be the only time many of those present