Record-breaker Erling Haaland
Replicating Erling Haaland’s record-breaking season will be challenging. His release clause from Borussia Dortmund was satisfied when he joined Manchester City last summer for what is now thought to be a fair £51.2m. He was well-known for being a prolific goal scorer. We had no idea how he would adjust to the Premier League’s demanding match calendar.
No need to worry
We quickly discovered that the player lacks a great deal of fear in his approach to the game, and as a result, he scored twice in West Ham’s opening-day victory. This was swiftly followed by two hat-tricks in the space of a week, setting up his incredible record-breaking season. To aid in winning the Champions League was one of the reasons City wanted the Norwegian. Additionally, he scored twice more against Seville on his first competition start for City. Haaland’s youthful grin could be seen with every goal scored, and everything just seemed so easy to him.
By the end of the season, he had earned Pep Guardiola’s trust by helping his team win the Treble, and even if his team’s scoring pace slowed down towards the end of the season, he was still a major talking topic. The 23-year-old’s spectacular year was rounded off by winning the Champions League title.
With 36 goals in 35 games, he established the record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season. His aggregate tally of 52 goals in 53 games earned him the FWA Footballer of the Year title as well as the European Golden Boot for being the top scorer on the continent.
How to avert him
But now he has a fresh obstacle to overcome. second-season syndrome, for example. Being the new kid on the block with teams having no idea how to defend you is all well and good. Premier League defenses are now aware of the ability to review past footage and determine how, if possible, to defend against the power that seemed unstoppable. The Premier League is among the finest in the world not just because it can attract stars, but also because of how rapidly its managers and coaches can adjust.
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.”
When you read it, everything looks so simple, but putting it into practice is obviously more difficult. Haaland will undoubtedly continue to score a lot of goals this season. His entire DNA compels him to do so. And to back him up in that, he has the best football squad in the world. To get to the levels he accomplished last year, however, will be extremely challenging simply because teams and defenders are prepared now. How much of a difference does it make whether he scores 30 or 40 goals? 50, however, will be excessive for the upcoming season.