Man City Debut New 17-Year-Old Goal Hero on Erling Haaland’s Night Off

On a night when Manchester City debuted a new £34.2 million ($45.7 million) winger who put up a goal and assist, it was still a 17-year-old from the academy who took the headlines.

Allan’s performance against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup was nothing to be sniffed at. The Brazilian set up the opening goal of the third-round tie and scored the third of the 5–0 win himself. This was a confident start following his August switch from Palmeiras.

And yet, the player who really caught the eye was Floyd Samba, almost completely unknown outside youth soccer circles before kickoff at the Etihad Stadium.

Son of former Premier League center back Christopher Samba, the teenager squeezed onto the bench when Enzo Maresca’s team beat Coventry City earlier this month. He was unused, though, just as he had been in preseason when traveling with the first team to Hong Kong and South Korea.