Erling Braut Haaland – That’s the name on everyone’s lips after his display in the Manchester Derby where he clocked a hat-trick, making it 3 hat-tricks in 8 games, the fastest in the history books for “scoring three Premier League hat-tricks”. The next person in this honour roll is Michael Owen, who is in a distant 2nd place with 3 hat-tricks in 48 games. Erling Haaland is also the first player in Premier League history to score 3 consecutive home match hat-tricks.
The man who tore up the Austrian Bundesliga with RB Salzburg, then the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund is now tearing up the Premier League with 14 goals in 8 games. Yes, the argument that he has still not met any of the big sides yet (sorry Manchester United fans), with games against Liverpool, Chelsea and high flying Arsenal yet to come; he has shown that he has the skillset to dominate any opponents, especially with the entourage that he has with him at the club.
What makes him so dangerous and clinical than the best strikers that the Premier League has seen so far? Well, it’s that he seems to have the combination of skillsets the great strikers that have graced the Premier League. He’s strong like Drogba; he’s aggressive and athletic as Rooney; he has a striking prowess like Van Persie and he has the killer’s instinct like Thierry Henry. I’d even make the case he has the uncanny positioning and timing of Jaiver Hernandez (Chicharito’s status as a Premier League great is debatable though). On top of that – he can pull others into play. And that is the problem for defenders and managers in the league at the moment. How do you stop someone who seems to have no weakness – the perfect striker. By doubling or tripling up on him, you leave his team mates free and they are just as talented as the Norwegian – case in point – Phil Foden, the other hat-trick hero in the recent Manchester Derby.
Try to muscle him, he’d outspeed you. Try to outspeed him, he’d out maneuver you. Take a look at his 3rd goal in the derby. Haaland made 3 quick movements to not only peel away from his marker but also be in ample space for his team mates to find him and finish. And you’ll see this happening over and over again if you take a look at the full match highlights. It happened again in the following match against F.C. Copenhagen. It’s not by accident, it’s a trademark. How do you stop it? Well, isn’t that the question now. The current solution would be to stop the passes getting to him, but with the quality City have, that is not the most sustainable answer.
A caution for those jumping on the Haaland hype train – the man does come with a flaw. For all his great achievements, Erling Haaland is prone to injury. In his last 3 seasons, Haaland has missed 16, 12 and 2 games with muscle related problems. It’s a worrying sign for someone with so much promise and hype. It seems that his injury problems are getting worse, for someone that is so young in his career. Guardiola seems wary of that as he has subbed Haaland out in 7 of his 12 games so far this season. If managed properly and he keeps his humility, Haaland will most definitely go on to be one of the best goalscorers in the history of football – across generations.
For now, as the world admires how unstoppable the Norwegian is, rival clubs have to quickly find a solution to the man that cannot be stopped. As for his manager – he hopes that Erling Haaland stays injury free as he is the final piece to his quest for European glory.
Written by: Baz
