Six goals in five games, a hat-trick and a first goal in sky blue: Man City have named Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Elliot Anderson as the three contenders for their October Player of the Month award.
The shortlist for the Etihad Player of the Month was revealed by the club on Monday, and it is now down to the fans. Manchester City won four matches in October, so there was no shortage of candidates, but these three stood out.
Voting is open now and closes at 2pm UK time on Friday 6 November, so the winner will be known after Wednesday’s Champions League trip to RB Leipzig.
Who is on the Man City Player of the Month shortlist?
The three names are Haaland, Foden and Anderson. One is the man who has carried City’s goal threat for years, one is a homegrown star who spent the start of the month watching from the stands, and one is still in his first season at the Etihad.
All three made a real case, and they did it in different ways.
Erling Haaland: six goals in five matches
Erling Haaland kept up his remarkable scoring run through October. He scored in the Premier League wins over Liverpool and Ipswich, with two against the Tractor Boys, and found the net again away at Aston Villa.
In the Champions League he scored twice against Paris Saint-Germain. That took him to six goals in five matches across the month, the kind of return City have almost come to take for granted from their number nine.
He also went into the weekend on a scoring run against Brighton, and we looked at the Premier League first Haaland was chasing against the Seagulls before Saturday’s game.
Phil Foden: a return that went exactly to plan
Foden began October serving the last of a three-game suspension after a red card. Once he was available again, he made up for lost time.
Enzo Maresca predicted Foden would score on his comeback, and he was proved right when he netted in the 3-2 win over Ipswich. Foden then took AEK Athens apart in the Champions League with a sparkling hat-trick, and set up Rayan Cherki for another goal in a 5-1 win.
A goal on his return, a hat-trick and an assist is a strong month for a player who missed the start of it.
Elliot Anderson: settling in quickly
Elliot Anderson has made an impressive start to life at the Etihad, and October was the month he took a lead role. He was outstanding in the 3-0 win away to Liverpool that opened the month, and kept that level going for the rest of October.
His performances were capped by his first City goal, which came in that 5-1 win over AEK Athens. For a midfielder still new to the club, being shortlisted alongside Haaland and Foden says plenty about how quickly he has settled.
Why this vote comes at a good time for Maresca
November has not started the way October went. City lost to Brighton on Saturday, and the questions about Maresca’s midfield selection against Brighton have not gone away.
A reminder of what this team looked like a few weeks ago is no bad thing. All three nominees are likely to matter in Leipzig, and our Man City predicted lineup vs RB Leipzig has Foden back in the side.
Haaland or Foden? Our pick for October
Anderson deserves his place on the list, and his display in the 3-0 win at Liverpool was one of the standout performances of the month. But this is a two-horse race.
Foden’s hat-trick against AEK Athens was the single best performance of the month. Haaland, though, scored in four different games, against Liverpool, Ipswich, Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain, and six goals in five matches is hard to argue with. Our vote goes to Haaland, narrowly, for doing it week after week rather than in one night.
