Let’s celebrate Haaland as an exceptional human, not some weird mutant

Weekend Talking Points: The manner in which Haaland’s performance is being described is beginning to be troubling. Words like ‘freak’, ‘cheat code’, ‘robot’ and even ‘he's not human’ are being used

HUMAN: Manchester City's Erling Haaland. Pic: PA

Casemiro and Martinez star for United

It was a powerful header by Casemiro that equalised for Manchester United, deep into injury time and it was the sweet, sweet icing on the cake for a player who had played a great game, a player who has made a career out of never knowing when he is beaten. Across the 90 minutes, he was everywhere, doing what is essentially the dirty work, work that too few players will do so diligently. Looking like a tough middle-weight boxer, he just storms around the pitch disrupting the opposition, putting out fires before they even start. Sitting in front of Lisandro Martinez, they have given United so much solidity. Those of us who doubted Martinez because of his height at 5’ 10” were wrong. He was tremendous at Chelsea in the centre of defence. Aggressive, he’s not content to just break up play, he snaps at the opposition, steals the ball and moves it forward immediately. Last season, United would have lost this Chelsea game, however, slowly but surely, they are looking cohesive and redoubtable. Two qualities that have long been in short supply - these two players are axiomatic to that development.