Manchester City sealed their Champions League progress as group winners despite Riyad Mahrez missing a penalty and Erling Haaland being kept quiet on his return to Borussia Dortmund in a 0-0 draw.

Pep Guardiola's rode their luck at times on Tuesday and also wasted a glorious chance to claim victory at Signal Iduna Park, but they always knew a point would be enough to win Group G.

That did not always look a given, though. City could not handle Karim Adeyemi before half-time, the young forward teeing up team-mates three times and also missing a presentable chance of his own.

The away side looked brighter after Haaland's half-time withdrawal, but the Norwegian surely would have taken the penalty that Mahrez had saved; it had no bearing on City's main objective, however.

City's first fortunate escape came as Dortmund threatened in the 16th minute, Adeyemi hitting a feeble effort at Stefan Ortega after being released into the right side of the box.

He showed greater composure in a similar scenario a few moments later, opting to pass across the area to Giovanni Reyna, but the American's eventual shot was tame.

More good work from Adeyemi went unrewarded just past the half-hour mark, with Youssoufa Moukoko inexplicably missing the target from close range after latching on to a square pass.

Guardiola responded to City's lack of control by bringing Bernardo Silva on for Haaland.

The change had the desired effect, but it meant the lethal Haaland was unavailable for penalty duties after Emre Can clumsily fouled Mahrez, whose subsequent spot-kick was saved by Gregor Kobel.

A Julian Alvarez snapshot was also parried by Kobel, who ensured Dortmund held on to the point that takes them through.

Pep Guardiola praised Jude Bellingham's "special mentality" as Manchester City prepare to face the Borussia Dortmund man in Tuesday's Champions League encounter.

City travel to Signal Iduna Park this week already assured of their place in the knockout rounds, thanks in no small part to a former Black and Yellow star in striker Erling Haaland.

But following the Norway international's exit from the Bundesliga club, it has been England international Bellingham soaking up the plaudits this term.

The 19-year-old captained Dortmund in both domestic and European competition for the first time earlier this month, and now Guardiola has praised him as "the whole package".

"I think Dortmund is a perfect place for young, talented players," he stated. "Maybe [if] Bellingham went to a top Premier League team, he wouldn't get the minutes.

"The best way for a young player to get better is to play. He has a special mentality. He is already one of their captains - [for it] to happen at 19 is impressive.

"It's not just about the goals, the whole package is really good. He's already playing for England at 19. We know the quality that he has."

With their hosts still requiring a result to secure their own qualification, Guardiola knows he will face a tough test in Germany and is relishing his side playing in front of the famous Yellow Wall once again.

"It's a fantastic stadium and everybody knows it," he added. "The atmosphere, the attractive football they play. I'm happy to be back here."

Benfica could dump Juventus out of the Champions League, while Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are among the other clubs who can seal a round-of-16 spot on Tuesday.

Juve must win at Benfica to have any chance from qualifying from Group H, while a victory will be enough to see the home side through. They can also advance with a point if Maccabi Haifa are unable to beat PSG.

The Ligue 1 champions will be through with a victory at the Parc des Princes or if they draw and Juve fail to win in Lisbon.

Chelsea travel to Salzburg as the Group E leaders and are guaranteed to progress if they win, while the Austrian side also remain in the hunt to qualify. The Premier League club can also go through if they draw and third-placed Milan defeat Dinamo Zagreb, who are bottom but only three points behind the leaders.

Borussia Dortmund will be sure to join Manchester City in getting out of Group G if they secure a home win over Pep Guardiola's side, who could win the pool with a game to spare. Real Madrid are in a similar situation to City, while RB Leipzig bid to join the holders in the knockout stage.

Ahead of another tense night of action, Stats Perform picks out the standout Opta numbers for the eight matches.

Benfica v Juventus

Juve have lost all three of their European matches away at Benfica, with their most recent loss a 2-1 Europa League defeat in 2014. 

The Turin giants only have one victory home or away in the seven previous meetings between the two famous clubs, Jurgen Kohler, Dino Baggio and Fabrizio Ravanelli on target in a 3-0 UEFA Cup clash in 1993.

Benfica could qualify for the knockout stage for a second consecutive season, a back-to-back feat they have only previously achieved in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons under Rui Vitoria. 

Juve could be eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when Antonio Conte was in charge.

Paris Saint-Germain v Maccabi Haifa

Maccabi are winless in three away European games (including qualifiers) in France, losing two and drawing in a Cup Winners' Cup tie at PSG back in 1998.

PSG have only lost one of their past 32 group stage games at the Parc des Princes in the Champions League (W25 D6), with their lone defeat during that run coming against Manchester United in October 2020 (1-2). They have averaged 2.7 goals per game in those fixtures, scoring 86.

Since Kylian Mbappe's Champions League debut in September 2016, only Robert Lewandowski has been directly involved in more non-penalty goals (55) than the France forward (54 – 34 goals, 20 assists). 

Omer Atzili has scored twice for Maccabi in the Champions League this season. The last Israeli player to net more in a single campaign in the competition was Eran Zahav, who scored three for Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2010-11.

Salzburg v Chelsea 

Chelsea have only played two away European matches in Austria, losing 1-0 at Weiner Sport-Club in November 1965 in the Fairs Cup and drawing 1-1 against Austria Vienna in November 1994 in the Cup Winners’ Cup. 

Salzburg are winless in all seven of their European matches against English teams (D2 L5), failing to beat Blackburn Rovers (D1 L1), Manchester City (L2), Liverpool (L2) and Chelsea (D1).

In-form Chelsea have won back-to-back Champions League games, beating Milan 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and 2-0 at the San Siro. The last time they won three games in a row in the competition by a margin of at least two goals was in October-November 2013.

Salzburg have scored exactly one goal in each of their past seven games in the Champions League – only one team have ever had a longer run of scoring a single goal in the competition, with Olympiacos doing so in 10 in a row in a run ending in November 2005. 

Borussia Dortmund v Manchester City

No player has been directly involved in more goals than City's Erling Haaland (five goals) or Dortmund's Jude Bellingham (four goals, one assist) during the group stage this season.

Dortmund have won just one of their five Champions League matches against City (D1 L3), a 1-0 home victory in the 2012-13 group stage. 

No full-back has been involved in more sequences of play that have ended in shots (29) or goals (five) thans Joao Cancelo in the Champions League this season. The Portugal international has provided three assists in four games, equalling his season-best tally in a Champions League campaign (three in nine games last season). 

If Haaland scores on his return to face his former club, it will be the third time he has scored in five or more consecutive appearances in the Champions League. Only five players have achieved that feat on three occasions – Cristiano Ronaldo (five), Lionel Messi (three), Lewandowski (three), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (three) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (three). 

Other fixtures:

RB Leipzig v Real Madrid

13 – Madrid are unbeaten in their past 13 games against German sides in European competition (W9 D4), scoring at least two goals in every game during this run (31 in total). 

3 – Leipzig will be looking to win three consecutive Champions League games for just the second time – they won three in a row between February and August 2020, beating Tottenham twice and Atletico Madrid once. 

Dinamo Zagreb v Milan

5 – Dinamo have lost all five of their matches against Milan in European competition (including qualifiers). Against no side have they lost more games in their European history (also five v Ajax). 

100 – Milan's 100 per cent record against Dinamo – winning five out of five games against them – is their best against any side in Europe.

Sevilla v Copenhagen

29 – The average age of Sevilla's starting line-up in the Champions League this season is 29 years and 73 days, the second-oldest of any side in the competition this term after Rangers (29 years 96 days). 

13 – Copenhagen are winless in all 13 of their major European matches against Spanish teams (D5 L8), losing their last three on Spanish soil. 

Celtic v Shakhtar Donetsk 

7 – Celtic have lost seven of their past eight games in the Champions League (D1) and are looking for their first win in the competition since September 2017 (3-0 v Anderlecht).

0 – Shakhtar have never won a Champions League away match against a British team, losing on eight of their nine total trips. They did avoid defeat in the most recent one, however, drawing 1-1 against Manchester City in November 2019. 

Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland will be a "genius" if he can break the Premier League scoring record, and hailed the impact of Borussia Dortmund on the striker's development.

The Norway international has scored 17 top-flight goals in 11 outings since his move from Dortmund, managing a brace in Saturday's 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Haaland also became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions since Sergio Aguero in the 2017-18 season.

Alan Shearer and Andy Cole both scored 34 goals in a single campaign, sharing the English top-flight record, with Guardiola expecting Haaland to surpass that mark if he can continue his impressive form.

"If he continues to score with this rhythm, he will be a genius, with the average every game, he's going to break the record," the City manager said.

"But football, maybe you score then a few days later you stop scoring, I don't know.

"All the strikers I have ever seen, [Samuel] Eto'o, [Lionel] Messi, [Robert] Lewandowski, [Thomas] Muller, [Sergio] Aguero, their ambitions to score goals, goals and more goals is normal, it has to be like that."

While the 22-year-old forward will eye breaking more Premier League records, Haaland's attention must first turn to a reunion at Dortmund in the Champions League.

City have already qualified for the knockout stages of UEFA's flagship club competition but will progress as Group G winners with victory at Signal Iduna Park.

Tuesday will mark a memorable return for Haaland, who scored 86 goals in 89 appearances during his two-and-a-half-year spell at BVB, and Guardiola credited the influence of the Bundesliga side on the striker's progression.

"It will be good [the reception he gets]. Salzburg in Austria, then Dortmund, he scored a lot of goals as well," the Spaniard added.

"At Dortmund, that period helped, the managers he had, the team-mates he had. In a few years, he will be a better player again from the [City] team-mates he plays with, definitely."

With a goal against his former side, Haaland would become just the sixth player to score in five or more consecutive Champions League outings on as many as three separate occasions, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (5), Messi (3), Lewandowski (3), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (3) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (3). 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta "will always be grateful" to Pep Guardiola for the time they spent together at Manchester City.

Arteta was Guardiola's assistant for three years before taking the top job at Arsenal in 2019.

The duo now find themselves going head-to-head at the top of the Premier League, with the Gunners leading the way, one place ahead of chasing champions City.

Arsenal travel to Southampton on Sunday looking to restore their four-point advantage following City's 3-1 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the game at St Mary's, Arteta expressed his gratitude for his time at City and the things he learned working under Guardiola.

"I learned a lot about being at the top from Pep," he said. "The standards that are set at the club are not only to win, but to win in a certain way every three days, and be extremely demanding and critical, and at the same time supportive, so it's a good mixture.

"It was incredible to be part of that team and the evolution and how that team was built. I will always be grateful."

The Spanish pair still speak regularly, but Arteta revealed: "Obviously we are not going to be talking about things related to our teams but of course we can speak about football as we did in the past and that's not going to change."

Arsenal have surprised many with their impressive start to the campaign, following up throwing away Champions League qualification at the end of last season to start this one with nine wins from 10 Premier League games.

They head to the south coast having won their last eight in all competitions, and Arteta explained how he manages to stay relaxed about everything.

"First of all, I try to sleep well. Rest is really important," he said. "I try to look after my diet as much as I can. I don't exercise as much as I should do, I have to be very critical of myself in that sense.

"And then I have to keep a clear mind and to do that, spending time with my loved ones is something that really helps me, my wife, my children. And really thinking, meditation, something like that helps you."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola wants more from Kevin De Bruyne who he says is not playing at his top level despite a stunning goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

The two-time Premier League Player of the Season fired in City's third goal with a curling right-foot shot from just beyond the box to seal the points in the 75th minute.

Since De Bruyne's Premier League debut for City in September 2015, he has scored more goals from outside the box than any other player in the competition in this period (24).

The goal was the 31-year-old Belgian's second of the Premier League season while he has also contributed nine assists, yet Guardiola is expecting more.

"He can be better. He's not playing at his top level, not yet," Guardiola told reporters.

"He made a fantastic goal but he's not playing his best. He knows. I don’t have to tell him. His dynamic still is not perfect, he knows that. I spoke with him. The goal is outstanding.

"Thanks to him we didn’t suffer in the last 15, 20 minutes when the game was more open… Kevin made a masterclass action so we win the game."

Erling Haaland continued his remarkable form with a first-half double, meaning he became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions since Sergio Aguero in February 2018.

The Norwegian showcased his pace and physicality to open the scoring in the 22nd minute, before emphatically converting a 43rd-minute penalty with a powerful strike.

"I would say that [Haaland]] has the quality in bigger spaces, he can do it and in smaller spaces he can do it," Guardiola said. "This is the reality.

"He is fantastic. The numbers and everything, the way he kicked the penalty, the quality, he did it."

Haaland's goal which made it 2-0 was City's 600th in the Premier League under Guardiola, making him the third manager to achieve that feat behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

Manchester United scrambled a draw at Chelsea without Cristiano Ronaldo as Casemiro's late heroics saved the day for Erik ten Hag.

That was the climax to a four-game Premier League programme on Saturday, and it was one that saw Liverpool slip up at their bogey ground, Manchester City go past 600 Premier League goals in the Pep Guardiola era, and Everton finally find some scoring form at Goodison Park.

City have closed the gap on leaders Arsenal to one point, ahead of the Gunners' trip to Southampton on Sunday.

Here, Stats Perform picks out the best facts from the day's Premier League action.

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United: Casemiro saves the day for Red Devils

Jorginho's 87th-minute penalty looked set to be the winner, but Casemiro had other ideas, heading home to earn a point for United in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Only Arsenal (12) and Chelsea (9) have had more different Brazilians score a Premier League goal for them than United, after Casemiro became the eighth on their list. The goal, time at 93:28, was United's latest equaliser in a league game since Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored at the death in April 2017 against Everton (93:41).

Jorginho has now scored 19 of his 22 penalties in the Premier League for Chelsea, with only Frank Lampard having netted more spot-kicks for the Blues in the competition (41).

Setting aside the late drama, the outcome should come as little surprise. No Premier League fixture has been drawn as often as Chelsea against United (26 draws). Seven of the past nine such meetings have finished level now, including each of the past five.

Chelsea are now winless in their past 10 Premier League games against United (D7 L3) – only against Blackburn Rovers (12 games between 1992 and 1998) and Arsenal (19 between 1995 and 2005) have they ever had a longer winless run in the competition.

Raheem Sterling lasted 79 minutes before being replaced. He has now faced United 24 times in all competitions in his professional career, more than any other opponent, but has never scored past them, despite attempting 38 shots across those games (15 on target).

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Liverpool: Klopp rattled by City Ground slip-up

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp picked fault with his team's finishing after this painful defeat, pointing to misses by Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk, but this was just the latest in a line of disappointments in Nottingham for the Anfield giants.

Liverpool have never won in six Premier League away games against Forest (D3 L3), making the City Ground the only stadium where the Reds have played more than once in the competition and never won.

Taking in results from the pre-Premier League era, Liverpool have failed to win on any of their past 13 league trips to Forest (D7 L6).

This was their first visit on league duty since 1999, with a once-fierce rivalry having been on hold during Forest's time outside the top flight. The outcome gave Forest a first home success in the competition over Liverpool since a 1-0 victory in March 1996.

Liverpool have cause for concern: they have failed to win any of their first five away games in a Premier League season for the first time since 2006-07 under Rafael Benitez, and they have three league defeats in 2022-23 already, one more than in the whole of the 2021-22 campaign.

Match-winner Taiwo Awoniyi became the first Forest player to score in each of his first three Premier League starts at the City Ground, lifting Steve Cooper's team off the foot of the table.

Manchester City 3-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Haaland matches Aguero, De Bruyne goes level with Silva

Erling Haaland has gone off hat-tricks, but doubles will do fine for now. With two goals against Brighton, he became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions since Sergio Aguero in February 2018. The Norwegian has 15 goals in those seven matches. His second goal was City's 600th in the Premier League since Guardiola took charge for the 2016-17 season.

Kevin De Bruyne was no bystander in this victory, putting the seal on the success with a fine second-half strike after Leandro Trossard closed the gap. De Bruyne has been directly involved in 153 Premier League goals for City (59 goals, 94 assists), with Saturday's effort putting him level with David Silva's goal involvements tally for the club (60 goals, 93 assists) and behind only Aguero (231 – 184 goals, 47 assists).

City have won 10 consecutive Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium, including all six this season. This is the fifth time they have begun a Premier League campaign by winning their opening six home matches (also 2007-08, 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2018-19).

While City thrive, Brighton are fading. Roberto De Zerbi has become the fourth manager/head coach to fail to win any of his first five league games with the club, after Barry Lloyd (first 12), Don Welsh (first 8) and George Curtis (first 5).

The Seagulls remain winless away to City in all 13 league visits in their history (D2 L11), losing their last nine.

Everton 3-0 Crystal Palace: Toffees end slide, pass goals milestone

After consecutive losses to Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle United, Everton got back on track thanks to goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anthony Gordon and substitute Dwight McNeil.

Calvert-Lewin's opener was Everton's 1,500th goal in the Premier League, making the Toffees the seventh side to reach that total and the first since Manchester City in January 2021.

It was raining goals by recent Everton standards, with Frank Lampard's team having only managed three goals in total across their five previous Premier League games this season.

Erling Haaland got back on the goal trail as his first-half double helped Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The Norwegian was kept quiet as City fell to their first defeat of the Premier League season at Liverpool last Sunday, but he bounced back in convincing fashion by putting the Seagulls to the sword.

Haaland was the beneficiary of an Ederson assist when he tapped into an empty net for his first, then rifled home a penalty to double up shortly before half-time.

Leandro Trossard dragged Brighton back into contention after the break, but Pep Guardiola's champions weathered the storm before Kevin De Bruyne made the points safe with a trademark long-range strike.

City toiled as Brighton kept things tight in the opening 20 minutes, but the hosts benefitted from a more direct approach when Haaland latched onto Ederson's lofted ball before shrugging off Aaron Webster to score the opener.

Lewis Dunk denied De Bruyne with a last-ditch block following a give-and-go with Jack Grealish 10 minutes later, but the Brighton defender was at fault when Haaland extended City's lead.

After a lengthy VAR review ruled Dunk had tripped Bernardo Silva in a crowded penalty area, Haaland blasted the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner, giving Robert Sanchez no chance.

However, Brighton needed just eight minutes to half the arrears after the break, as Trossard cut inside from the left before beating Ederson at his near post from 18 yards out, Solly March with the assist.

Trossard then forced Ederson into a reflex save as Brighton continued to push, but their efforts were undone when De Bruyne picked out the top-left corner with 15 minutes remaining, having been teed up by Silva. 

Erling Haaland could become the first player in world football to make a transfer worth £1billion, according to his agent Rafaela Pimenta.

Haaland left Borussia Dortmund to join Manchester City after they activated a £51.2million (€60m) release clause in his BVB contract in May, and the striker has already begun to pay that fee back by making an incredible start to life in England.

The Norwegian became the first player to score as many as nine goals in his first five Premier League appearances in August and has already netted three hat-tricks in the competition.

Haaland has hit the net 15 times in 10 league games for City, and Pimenta, who manages the agency built by the late Mino Raiola, believes he could make history with his next move.

Asked to put a price on Haaland by Sky Sport Italia, Pimenta said: "One billion, that's what I think. 

"If you put together his football value, his image value, his sponsorship value, it is one billion, for sure.

"It's also normal to compare Erling with [Kylian] Mbappe, so you have a little bit of an idea of the market. I think Erling will be the first player to achieve a transfer around one billion." 

Haaland's incredible form has coincided with speculation linking him to Real Madrid, but Pimenta would be open to discussing a new contract with City instead of instigating a move away.

Asked whether Haaland could already be in line for a new deal, she said: "I hope so! If they want to discuss it today, I would be happy. Why not?"

However, Pimenta kept her cards close to her chest when questioned on reports claiming Haaland's current contract has a release clause allowing him to join Madrid on favourable terms. 

"The good and bad of being a lawyer is that you know what you cannot say," she added. "You don't need someone poking you, saying; 'Don't say this, don't say that'. I cannot talk about it."

Pep Guardiola has apologised after Manchester City fans sang chants referencing football stadium tragedies against Liverpool, but he does not feel the rivalry between the clubs has become "toxic".

City suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season at Anfield on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah's second-half goal enough to secure a 1-0 win for the Reds.

However, the game was overshadowed by several off-pitch incidents.

Guardiola alleged home fans threw coins at him; police said they were investigating an apparent attack on City's team bus; and Liverpool criticised the conduct of some away supporters.

The Reds accused City fans of singing "vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies" and vandalising the concourse with graffiti of a similar nature.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion, Guardiola said those responsible did not represent City and insisted the club's recently established rivalry with Liverpool is not out of control.

Asked whether contests between Liverpool and City had become "toxic" on Friday, Guardiola said: "I don't think so, [not] from our side, I'm pretty sure of that.

"I didn't hear the chants. If it happened, I'm so sorry. It does not represent what we are as a team or as a club if this happened.

"We can behave perfectly and [correct] our mistakes, without a problem."

Pep Guardiola remains hopeful Kyle Walker will be fit to feature at the World Cup as he offered positive updates on fellow England internationals John Stones and Kalvin Phillips.

Walker has not featured for Manchester City since suffering an abdominal injury in the Premier League champions' 6-3 win over Manchester United earlier this month.

The 32-year-old subsequently underwent surgery, leaving his chances of making the trip to Qatar in the balance and dealing Gareth Southgate another selection headache.

Chelsea right-back Reece James also faces a race against time to make the squad, while Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold has been in poor form this season.

However, Walker offered hope to England supporters last week, telling BBC Radio 5 Live he was "confident" of returning to action before the tournament begins.

Speaking ahead of City's Premier League meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion, Guardiola offered an update on the condition of his England trio, saying: "I haven't spoken to the doctors about Kyle. 

"Hopefully it can happen, if he's selected, that he can go to the World Cup.

"John has trained for the last two days with us, tomorrow, he's on the list. Kalvin is incredible, he's much better as well. They are recovering very well."

City fell to their first defeat of the campaign against Liverpool last Sunday, but are expected to get back on track against a Brighton side yet to taste victory under new boss Roberto De Zerbi (D2 L2).

On Saturday, De Zerbi could become the first Premier League coach to fail to win any of his first five games at the helm since Scott Parker in April 2019, but Guardiola has backed him to have a "massive" impact in the competition.

"I'm really happy he is here, I saw the last two games he had here, and he is already playing the way he wants to play," Guardiola added. "His impact in England will be massive in the future.

"He was counter-cultural in his country. In Italy, they mainly play in an incredible way which gave them a lot of success as a country, but he plays a completely different way to Italy.

"His Sassuolo team was an incredible example that no matter the quality or investment that you have, if you believe in something 100 per cent, the way your team plays, you can do it.

"He's a really good example for every manager. At the start, it doesn't matter about the results, what matters is the way you believe and the way you want to see your team playing football."

City have won their last nine Premier League home games, scoring at least three goals in each. There have only been two longer such runs in English top-flight history, both recorded by Aston Villa (12 in 1897 and 13 in 1930-31).

Ilkay Gundogan says his "special" Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland can be a future contender to win the Ballon d'Or.

Since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in June, Haaland has scored 20 goals in 13 appearances and become the first player in Premier League history to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home games, the last of which came against rivals Manchester United in a 6-3 thrashing.

The 22-year-old was 10th in the 2022 Ballon d'Or rankings as Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema was named the best player in the world for the first time on Monday.

Gundogan believes Norway international Haaland has all the attributes to land the prestigious award.

"There is quality, everyone can see it," Gundogan told City's official website. "There is a lot of quality that he already brings, into our team, into his game.

"But also, the way he is dealing with things that are important to him and the mentality, the determination he has on a match day and also in the training sessions in the locker room. I think that is something special.

"On top of that he is humble. He knows he has to work hard to get where he is right now and to even get to better places.

"I'm sure that all this together will just improve him more and more, not just this season but in the next few years.

"It will make him an incredible player. He is already one, but he will just get better and I think this will increase his chances to win the Ballon d'Or."

Kevin De Bruyne believes Erling Haaland made a "very good" decision when he opted to join Manchester City, saying he does not understand anyone who doubted the Norwegian.  

Although Haaland endured a quiet outing as City fell to a 1-0 loss at Liverpool on Sunday – their first defeat of the Premier League season – he has made a brilliant start to life in England.

Haaland has scored 15 goals in 10 Premier League games since joining City, and became the first player in the competition's history to hit hat-tricks in three successive home games earlier this month.

De Bruyne has already struck up a strong understanding with Haaland, and believes City's depth of attacking quality has made the striker's adaptation easier. 

"I don't understand why people would say it would be difficult to score goals here," De Bruyne told City's website.

"I think we have an amazing team, we create a lot of opportunities for our strikers so if he's there, he will score goals.

"I think he made a very good decision to come."

Haaland scored nine goals in his first five Premier League games – the best return in the competition's history, and De Bruyne thinks it was crucial for the 22-year-old to hit the ground running.

"He did it before. He's a very good striker," De Bruyne added. "I am very happy for him that he started the way that he started with us, because obviously there was a lot of pressure coming here.

"But he's fine, he's very relaxed and he's started well. He scores a lot of goals, so he's helping us to win games."

Jurgen Klopp has insisted his comments about Manchester City's ownership were not in any way xenophobic. 

Last week, ahead of Liverpool's meeting with the reigning Premier League champions at Anfield – which finished 1-0 to the Reds – Klopp claimed his side were unable to compete with City due to the financial might of their owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, which bought the club in 2008.

City have gone from Premier League also-rans to a dominant force in English football, having won the title six times since 2012.

Indeed, four of the last five Premier League titles have gone City's way, with Liverpool pushing them hard in two of those seasons as well as winning the top flight themselves in 2020.

Klopp said: "There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially."

This was thought to be aimed at City, Paris Saint-Germain – owned by Qatar Sports Investments – and Newcastle United, who are majority owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

When it was put to Klopp in a press conference that his comments were seen by some as xenophobic, the Liverpool manager replied: "I know myself. And you cannot hit with something which is miles away from my personality.

"If I was – I cannot remember the word – like this I would hate it. I would hate myself for being like this.

"I have said a lot of times things that were a little bit open for misunderstanding. I know that.

"It was not intentional, just sometimes you say things and you think, 'Oh my God, it can be interpreted like this', but this is not one of these moments. Absolutely.

"It started with a question [about how to compete with City] and I answered it and all the rest was made of it.

"I know what I thought and put it in perspective and said how much I respect what they are doing, and it was still not right for some."

It has been reported City's hierarchy believe Klopp's pre-match comments increased tensions ahead of Sunday's game on Merseyside, during which visiting fans sang chants referencing stadium disasters – later condemned by Liverpool – while Pep Guardiola claimed to have had coins thrown at him as his club said he was targeted by missiles from home supporters.

Klopp was sent off after furiously confronting an official and is now facing a Football Association charge for his behaviour on the touchline.

Jurgen Klopp has been handed a Football Association (FA) charge following his actions during Liverpool's Premier League win over Manchester City on Sunday.

The Reds manager was shown a red card late on during his side's 1-0 victory at Anfield after he lambasted an assistant referee when no foul was given in Mohamed Salah's favour near the touchline.

Klopp accepted responsibility in his post-match comments, admitting he had overstepped the mark, having been sent to the stands by referee Anthony Taylor.

The 55-year-old is to be allowed in the dugout for Liverpool's next match against West Ham, but he has meanwhile been given until the end of the week to respond to an official charge relating to "improper" behaviour.

"Jurgen Klopp has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 following the Premier League game between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC on Sunday (16/10/22)," read an FA statement.

"It is alleged that the Liverpool FC manager's behaviour during the 86th minute of this game was improper, and he has until Friday (21/10/22) to provide a response."