Erling Haaland's Manchester City goals shouldn't overshadow defensive improvements from Pep Guardiola's side

Shrewd editions at the end of the transfer window solved a growing problem in Man City's back line

To win a league title, a team must constantly be reinventing themselves and that has been a hallmark of Manchester City. While Erling Haaland is rightfully claiming the headlines for himself on his way to scoring in the seven straight games, collecting his 14th goal in all competitions during a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton, City's clean sheet is also an important stat from the match.

Closing out August, City allowed five goals across two matches while drawing against Newcastle and defeating Crystal Palace. Injuries were mounting for Pep Guardiola with his preferred central pairing of Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias unavailable. John Stones and Nathan Ake might be useful squad players but they became a liability in central defense as a starting duo and with the summer departure of Fernandinho, Guardiola no longer had the security blanket of moving his trusted defensive midfielder to center back when things weren't going well.

This is where being nimble comes into play. While swift moves in the transfer market are easier for a club with Manchester City's financial muscle, all too often the richest clubs get tunnel vision, bidding more and more for a single player, rather than finding acceptable alternative options. City were able to add Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund while also not sending Sergio Gomez on loan after his arrival from Anderlecht. Gomez himself was acquired after City declined to get in a bidding war with Chelsea for Marc Cucurella, the left back who ultimately moved to London from Brighton. Given that Kyle Walker has also missed matches for City and Dias has not been available as much as expected, these two additions have proven to be critical to City.