Much has been written about Erling Braut Haaland and his incredible start to life in the Premier League with Manchester City.
And not all of it has been ultra positive.
There is school of thought which suggests that having such a powerful focal point has somehow unbalanced a team which has thrived thanks to a squad of speedy, skilful players who can all pass through the eye of a needle, have a tough edge and a winning habit.
But surely, the addition of the most prolific young striker in world football would only make Pep Guardiola’s team even better. Well…after a week in which the Sky Blues have hammered two in form teams, scoring 13 unanswered goals things might just be starting to click for the reigning Premier League champions.
Haaland plundered five goals as City slaughtered Red Bull Leipzig 7-0 in the Champions League and he followed that up with his sixth hat-trick of the campaign in a 6-0 FA Cup rout over Burnley.
This SBOTOP writer is a passionate Clarets fan and after watching Haaland dismantle my team I say, yes, he is a brilliant striker.
So let’s take a look at the stats.
The giant Norwegian has scored 42 goals so far this season, including his six trebles. He has scored 28 in the Premier League from 26 games, ten from six in the Champions League, three in the FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup. So he’s highly likely to pick up the Golden Boots in both Europe and England… and all this at the age of 22.
Haaland has been prolific from the moment he appeared on the European stage as an 18 year old, signing for Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg and scoring 17 goals in 16 games, a return which earned him a move to Borussia Dortmund. In his second season at the Signal Iduna Stadium, 2021/22, he was sidelined with a hamstring injury early in the campaign and then suffered a hip flexor injury which kept him out for two months. He returned in November to score his 50th goal for BVB, becoming the youngest player in German football to reach that benchmark. His goal to game ratio in the Bundesliga was phenomenally high as he plundered 62 goals in 67 appearances for Die Schwarzgelben. And that was a record which persuaded Manchester City to sign the player and he has somehow increased his goals to games ratio in the English league.
Haaland has also scored 21 goals in 23 appearances for Norway and it won’t be long before he becomes his nation’s top scorer of all time, with Jorgen Juve’s record of 33 goals in sight.
Any fears that he may be injury prone have not materialised at the Etihad Stadium and his powerful performances have increased Haaland’s stock further. With Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden supplying the ammunition he is never short of chances and he is a lethal as it comes in front of goal.
So what makes Haaland such a devastating attacker?
The number of Premier League 2023 highlights he has already produced are testament to his Haaland’s all round ability. At 6ft 5in, he is a man mountain with a rock solid frame, and that makes him the perfect centre forward to hold up play and link with his attacking midfielders. But he also possesses a frightening turn of pace which helps him get behind the last line of defence and then he displays his devastating finishing skills. Haaland can shoot clinically with either foot and he is powerful in the air, while his positional sense ensures that when the killer ball comes in he is there to bust the net.
For such a big man he is remarkably nimble on his feet and can work in tight spaces, and he is at his most dangerous when he is seemingly having a quiet game. When he was growing up Haaland idolised Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo and, while these are relatively early days, he is well on target to match or even eclipse the incredible achievements of those two legends.
Part of Haaland’s success will be measured by how he improves each club he plays with and Manchester City are in the hunt for a treble. The Sky Blues have drawn FC Bayern in the Champions League quarter finals and they have eight points to make up in the Premier League, with one game in hand. Leaders Arsenal took on Crystal Palace while City were destroying Burnley and held their nerves to run out 4-1 winners and that puts some pressure on Pep Guardiola’s team.
The Sky Blues are clear favourites to win the Champions League and the FA Cup but the latest Premier League 2023 betting odds are backing the Gunners. But with 11 games to go there will be twists and turns to come and this could turn out to be a spectacular campaign for Haaland and his club.
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