Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher says Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has failed to impress when facing “real elite defenders” this campaign.
Justifying his decision to select Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins ahead of the Norwegian in his Premier League Team of the Year, Carragher claimed that the City forward has struggled in some key fixtures:
“This season I actually think, in the biggest of games, I’ve been slightly disappointed with Haaland. In the Champions League against Real Madrid, against Arsenal, Liverpool as well, when he’s come up against the real elite defenders, the elite defenders have got the better of him.”
Haaland has scored 36 goals in 42 appearances this campaign so you do feel that Carragher is nitpicking to some degree.
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Carragher is correct to an extent. In his professional career, he has faced Real Madrid four times and he has still not got on the scoresheet.
Against Liverpool, he has hit the back of the net three times in 7 appearances, which is not a bad return. His record versus Arsenal is rather average, though, having scored twice in 6 matches.
In contrast, the highest number of goals he has bagged against a Premier League opponent is 8 goals against Wolves in only 4 games. It should be noted, however, that his second-highest return is 6 goals in 5 appearances versus fierce rivals Manchester United.
Haaland is still only 23
Some of the criticism of the Norwegian international has been rather over the top this season. Carragher’s remarks are more measured in comparison but, even so, it is important to remember that Haaland has still not reached the peak of his career.
The striker can continue to develop his all-round game over the next five to seven years and he could potentially become an even scarier prospect than he already is.
