Erling Braut Haaland (23) has 88 goals in 94 games for Manchester City, but has to endure debate about the number of ball touches. Now he answers.
Friday 10 May at 17:04
That is what has been and is so unique about Haaland. He uses so few touches per score.
In the 5–1 win against Wolverhampton, he scored four goals in just 32 touches of the ball.
But he scored zero goals in four matches against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. Then he used 41 touches in total.
Then the debate went straight away, and Sky Sports’ Paul Merson questioned, among others, whether it is unfavorable that Haaland has so few touches.
– There has always been a discussion about how many times I should touch the ball. When I score, nobody talks about it. But when I don’t score, then people start talking about it. This is part of my life and this is how people talk. I can’t control what people say about me, says Erling Braut Haaland in the podcast “Men in Blazers”.
– I have to focus on what I have to do on the pitch. My job is not to be like Rodrimidfielder for Man. City. – to control a match. It’s being in the box and attacking for City. I don’t care what people say. I care about what I can do to help the team win, the Norwegian continues.
Against Wolverhampton, Rodri had 102 ball touches in comparison.
– You can play football without being in contact with the ball. It may sound strange to some. You can do it with movements, and it’s also about the mental. Just being on the field is part of the game. There is not much more to say, I know what the role in my team is.
Manchester City and the league’s top scorer Haaland are chasing the league title – and their third last game in the league is away to Fulham on Saturday at 1.30pm.
