Manchester City’s rivals are being warned that trying to stop Erling Haaland has become “mission impossible”, with the Norwegian almost unplayable.
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Moved to the Etihad in 2022Won Treble in debut campaignContinues to shatter recordsGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Premier League defences have been finding that out the hard way since Haaland completed a transfer to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. His debut campaign in English football delivered 52 goals and a historic Treble triumph – as City landed Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League honours.
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Another domestic crown was secured last season, along with a second Golden Boot for Haaland, and former City captain Richard Dunne – speaking in association with online bingo site, – has told GOAL when asked how the prolific 24-year-old can be contained: “It’s certainly not a one-man job, you need help. You need people to cut off the supply line. Sometimes you have got to stand back and just admire genius footballers and accept that if he wants to, he is going to do things because of the way that he moves, the desire that he has got to score goals, the positions that he gets himself into. He’s so difficult to contain.
“A lot of the time it used to be the Arsenal side that were the best team, and Thierry Henry was the striker that you had to try and stop. It was almost impossible because of the supply line into him – it comes from all angles, from the back and through midfield. You are, unfortunately, in a position where you’re playing the best team in the world, with the best centre-forward in the world, who is desperate to score goals. It’s almost mission impossible in terms of trying to stop him on a regular basis.”
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
There was a time when defenders would favour rough treatment, with an early kick knocking a striking rival into place. That is not the case with Haaland, as the burly Norway international welcomes a physcial test. No-nonsense centre-half Dunne added: ”Physically, he’s probably one of the biggest players in the league. Centre-halves are looking at him and thinking ‘he’s quicker than me, he’s stronger than me, he can shoot off both feet, he can beat me in the air, what chance have I got?’ He relishes it.
“He loves scoring all different types of goals. That’s what I love about watching him, he’s happy to touch the ball once or twice and score a goal. He doesn’t care about getting involved, he just wants to do the job that he is being asked to do. He is doing it amazingly well.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Haaland has been smashing records with City on a regular basis, and would appear to have many more in his sights. He is well on course to become a Premier League great, with Dunne saying of seeing the Blues’ talismanic No.9 take up such a standing: “It is incredible what he has achieved, especially as he is still so young. There is talk of him signing a new contract at Manchester City and if that keeps him here for another five or six years, that will be enough for him to break all sorts of records. The fact that he’s not just done it at Man City, he’s done it at previous clubs, suggests that he’s just a serial goalscorer and he’s not going to stop wherever he is. I don’t see him taking his foot off the gas any time soon.”