Haaland has been a revelation since joining City in the summer of 2022, bagging a quite incredible 175 goals across 209 games.
That terrific tally means the three-time Golden Boot winner is only three goals off surpassing legend Eric Brook as our second all-time highest scorer behind only table topper Sergio Aguero.
The giant forward has also scored six Champions League goals against Wednesday’s opponents, Leipzig, his joint most against any opponent with five of them coming in City’s remarkable 7-0 win in March 2023.
Despite these ferocious figures – and Maresca’s huge faith in his star striker – the boss wants Haaland’s teammates to lessen the load on our No.9.
“It’s very important that in each game we create chances,” he said.
“For sure when you have Erling inside the pitch it’s better because you know he is going to score goals or be close.
“At the same time, we cannot rely on Erling for every game. We need the rest to score goals.
“But at the moment, the last game against Brighton was the only one where we didn’t score, I think so.
“For sure if Erling is in the pitch we are happy and for sure we need the rest to score goals.”
Looking to keep Haaland fresh and firing, Maresca has already afforded the Norwegian time off as he sat out the Carabao Cup victory over Brighton.
Addressing the media ahead of the Leipzig game, the City boss spoke of the importance of recuperation and rotation as he looks to juggle his squad for the challenges ahead in the 2026/27 season.
City are only just outside the Champions League qualification places heading into Wednesday’s clash at the Red Bull Arena.
The 20:00 (UK) kick-off is our fourth match in the 2026/27 UCL competition following wins over FC Porto and AEK Athens, those results coming either side of a defeat to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain as we find ourselves in 10th spot.
But the Blues are also riding high in the Premier League, into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and looking to impress in the FA Cup when that competition starts in January.
With so many games on the horizon in a plethora of competitions, Maresca insisted he must assess his players on a regular basis to keep them fresh.
“We are in all the competitions, we have many games and at the same time we have 20 senior players, all of them very good so it’s good to have competition between them.
“We have so many games and so many good players. It’s not a short run. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
“We have to think about 65 games and for me now it’s important for sure to win games but it’s also very, very important to arrive in February and March and April when it’s going to be more exciting to have all of them available and fit.”
Subscribe to CITY+ for live audio commentary of Leipzig v City
Listen to live audio commentary of our UEFA Champions League away clash at RB Leipzig live on CITY+.
Our game with Leipzig is a Wednesday 20:00 (UK) kick-off at the Red Bull Arena.
The perfect place to follow the clash with former City defender Martin Demichelis’s team is our CITY+ audio commentary service featuring Alistair Mann with summariser Andy Morrison who will guide fans through proceedings on the pitch.
They will paint the pictures with words and give you blow-by-blow observations of what’s happening as Enzo Maresca’s men set out in search of another victory in the UCL.
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