Erling Haaland, record breaker
Erling Haaland will find it hard to repeat his record-breaking season. He signed for Manchester City last summer, for what is now viewed as a bargain £51.2m (his release clause from Borussia Dortmund met). Everyone knew he was a goalscoring machine. What we didn’t know was how he would adapt to the Premier League and its heavy fixture schedule.
No fear
What we soon learnt was that the man has very little fear in his approach to the game, and this led to his scoring two goals in an opening day win at West Ham. This was followed very quickly with two hat-tricks within a week, to set up his amazing record-breaking season. One of the reasons City wanted the Norwegian was to help win the Champions League. And on his first appearance for City in the competition, he grabbed two more goals against Seville. It all seemed to be so natural to Haaland, and his boyish grin was evident with every goal scored.
By the season’s end, he had fulfilled the faith put into him by Pep Guardiola by helping his side win the Treble, and even though the goals dried up a little to the end of the campaign, he was still very much a focal point. Lifting the Champions League trophy capped off an incredible year for the 23-year-old.
He broke the single season Premier League scoring record with 36 goals in 35 games, and his overall tally of 52 goals in 53 appearances earnt him the FWA Footballer of the Year award, as well as the European Golden Boot, for being top scorer across the continent.
How to stop him
Now though, he faces a new challenge. That of second-season syndrome. It is all well and good being the new kid on the block with teams not knowing how to defend against you. Premier League defences now have the knowledge of looking back on tape and seeing how, if possible, to guard against the seemingly unstoppable force. The Premier League is one of the best in the world not just for its star-pulling power, but for how its managers and coaches adapt quickly.
"Back in September last year, former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam came up with an ideal plan to stop the striker. He told Bet365, “When the opposition has the ball, you need to go and play in City’s half, you need to make sure someone is always very tight on Haaland and trying to take him out of the game, especially when you lose the ball. He can’t be allowed to get hold of it. You need cover, too, otherwise if you try and risk it to play against him one vs one. With a lot of space in your back, nine out of ten times, it’s going to be a very difficult situation. So you need to be very aggressive against him. Teams are changing how they set up defensively when he’s playing because of his threat, people are saying we need to put a midfield player in front of him as well, to give them more time on the ball. But you need to make choices now as an opposition to defend against him.”"
https://twitter.com/asxd_98/status/1688450534947057664?s=20
It all seems so easy when you read it, but clearly, not so much to put into practice. There is no doubt that Haaland will score lots of goals again this season. It’s in his very DNA to do so. And he has the best team in world football to support that. However, it will be immensely difficult to reach the heights he did last year, simply because teams and defenders are ready now. How ready is the difference between him getting 30 or 40 goals? 50, though will be too much this coming season.