Erling Braut Haaland brings freshness to a game in thrall to pixels and profit | Jonathan Wilson

Teenager’s goal for Borussia Dortmund against PSG was a perfect reminder that football is meant to be enjoyable

It can be difficult sometimes to remember why we ever started liking football. What was it that first stirred us back in our childhood to make sure we were always by a radio or television at twenty to five? That led us to pore over the details in the Sunday papers? That made us belt a ball endlessly against the garage wall and keep detailed records of the games of Subbuteo we played against ourselves? It’s hard to remember now. Was it the legal wrangling? Was it the appeals to the court of arbitration for sport? Was it the futile pixel-by-pixel examination of offside decisions? Was it even the thrill of seeing the rich and greedy hammer much poorer opposition and then demand to be even richer? Was it human-rights-abusing states pumping money into the game to make everybody forget about their wars and torture centres? It’s so hard now to remember.

Chunk!

Related: Red-hot Erling Haaland hits double to give Dortmund victory over PSG

Related: Erling Braut Haaland gatecrashes again to haul Dortmund out of mire | Andy Brassell

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