Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has claimed Manchester City star Erling Haaland does not know how to position himself properly during close battles with world-class defenders. His comments came after the Norwegian endured a frustrating evening at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium during the first leg of City’s quarter-final clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday night (April 9).
Erling Haaland Endured A Night To Forget In Manchester City’s 3-3 Draw With Real Madrid
Manchester City and Real Madrid played out an enthralling 3-3 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring for Manchester City before Ruben Dias’ own goal and a fine strike from Rodrygo put Los Blancos in front. In the second half, Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol scored one goal each from outside the box, allowing City to go 3-2 up. In the last quarter of the game, Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde scored a world-class volley to restore parity for the final time on the night.
While his teammates were putting pressure on the Real Madrid backline, renowned striker Haaland cut a frustrating figure. Center-back Antonio Rudiger marked him out of play, restricting him to just one shot throughout the 90 minutes. Haaland also had only 20 touches in the quarter-final first leg — the least by any outfield player to finish the game.
Thierry Henry Explains How Haaland Could Improve His Game
Analyzing Haaland’s performance against Real Madrid, Henry pointed out the biggest flaw in his game. The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner claimed the 23-year-old regularly went shoulder to shoulder during duels, which allowed his marker to put a foot in and destabilize him.
Henry explained on CBS (via The Daily Mail):
“People can get better and I believe in that. But there is one thing that he [Erling Haaland] doesn’t do ever so well, and he’s always shoulder to shoulder with the defender, so you can go like this, and get your foot around.
“But if you are like this [square on, hand on defender’s shoulder] there is no way you can get that ball now. I’ve created a distance, you can’t get the ball. Even at three-quarters you can protect the ball.”
He concluded by saying:
“Afterwards it’s all about your quality, but you can’t let the defender get their leg around you, or get an arm around you, you have to grab it first then dictate.”
This is not the first time Haaland’s off-the-ball play has come under the microscope. Following City’s goalless draw with Arsenal on March 31, the former Borussia Dortmund man received a lot of flak from Manchester United legend Roy Keane. The former United skipper criticized the striker’s general play, saying it was “almost like a League Two player.”
