Erling Haaland arrived last week at the Santiago Bernabéu for the first time in his career and the fear that circulated in the Real Madrid environment due to the presence of the Norwegian giant was as big and as strong as his own figure, of more than 190 centimeters and almost 90 kilograms of weight. The fear was totally justified if one starts to review the goalscoring records of the Manchester City striker. For example, in his first year in the Premier he has already become the player with the most goals scored in the same season in the entire history of the competition. In Europe his figures are also impressive for being only 22 years old: 35 goals in 28 games, more than one per game, numbers that no one has ever signed, not even Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
But it was getting to Chamartín and all the fears remain in that and nothing else. Without Militao, out due to suspension in the first leg, Ancelotti placed Rüdiger over Haaland and the plan of the experienced Italian coach worked. Rüdiger dried up the striker and his strong marking was one of the highlights of the first leg.
Handcuffed by the German, and also controlled without problems by Alaba, he only left a couple of timid shots as he passed through Madrid. “I saw little of Haaland in the first leg”, acknowledges Jonas Adnan Giæver, a Norwegian journalist and one of the most authoritative voices when it comes to talking about the attacker, whom he has followed since he was 16 years old. “Real Madrid made a great effort to stop Haaland. It was obvious that they had to stop him because he concentrates City’s attack a lot, ”he explains.
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The Norwegian, pure character, will seek compensation in the Etihad. His discreet performance at the Bernabéu will be extra motivation to be decisive tonight. “It motivates him not to have scored in the first leg and that they talk about how they stopped him, that he can’t score against Madrid…”, reveals Jonas, who highlights the striker’s personality. “His idols of him were Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo and if we see the character of both, it is better to understand what Haaland is like. Criticism motivates him and even more so without being Champions, he loves this competition”, adds the journalist. Such is the striker’s obsession with Europe that when he played for Salzburg he had the tournament anthem as his ringtone. Now, he is only two games away from winning it.
To aspire to it, it will be essential for the City engine room to find Haaland. They didn’t get it at the Bernabéu. Beyond Rüdiger’s marking, one of Ancelotti’s great successes in the first leg was to isolate him from the rest of his teammates, minimizing his scoring chances. “Carlo understood that the best way to stop Haaland was to ensure that the ball did not reach him. And for this he deactivated the footballers who control the rhythm of City ”, Jonas exposes.
That it does not happen again also depends on Haaland being able to find alternatives to his game, as explained by his compatriot. “In addition to being a matador, He can delay his position and stick more with the midfield to attract defenders, create spaces and take advantage of them with his speed. He is a very complete striker”.
It is not yet known who will be her dance partner at the Etihad. Despite Rüdiger’s great performance, it seems that the German will lose the place in the eleven in favor of Militao. The truth is that the Norwegian is not particularly worried about facing the Brazilian or seeing their faces with Rüdiger again, no matter how much he was unhinged in the first leg. “Many players have played a good game against Haaland, but two or three is already more complicated,” considers Jonas, who gives Lisandro Martínez, from Manchester United, as an example. “When Haaland was at Dortmund and faced Ajax two seasons ago, Lisandro was spectacular. For this reason, this year it was said that Manchester United had the antidote to stop Haaland, but when they faced each other he scored a hat trick”.
Nobody can guess what will happen tonight, although Jonas is clear that his compatriot will not leave empty. “Is the best killer in the world, it is not easy to keep it quiet for 180 minutes and even more playing in the Etihad. I would be more surprised if Haaland did not score than to score three goals. There are no limits for him,” he says. In Europe, for the moment, whether they exist or not will depend on Real Madrid.
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