Erling Haaland made his competitive debut against Liverpool in the Community Shield match on Saturday, playing the full 90 minutes of the game. Despite shining in the pre-season match against Bayern Munich, Haaland’s presence vs Liverpool was not noticed as much as was expected of him.
Although City’s general rustiness contributed basically to the poor performance, the Norwegian striker missed a couple of chances in the game as his side lost the match. This however, was not the focus to Premier League legend, Roy Keane as he gave his verdict on Haaland.
The former Manchester United player was full of praises in his talk about the striker. In his own words, Keane said, “Brilliant player. Good age, 22, he hasn’t peaked yet, he’s working with a brilliant team, brilliant manager, he’s got all the attributes, you can’t imagine him not scoring 20 goals. He’s obviously got the right attitude, what a signing”
Haaland’s runs into the defence of the opponent team were rather quick and brilliant. Teams should be worried about how he gets into those positions almost always unnoticed.
Manchester City started the 2021/22 season in a similar fashion, losing the Community Shield contest to Leicester City. However, they went on to win the Premier League title for the second consecutive time. Learning from losses and getting straight into winning ways has become a trademark for them.
Despite a poor performance against Liverpool, Haaland’s quality as a point man was shown in glimpses. The Premier league season kicks off next weekend and Manchester City will play their first match against West Ham. The Norwegian superstar will have another chance to show what he is capable of doing in that tie.