‘Strange’ – Wayne Rooney baffled by what he saw from Erling Haaland in Liverpool vs Man City
Erling Haaland stole the spotlight after scoring the winning goal at Anfield as Man City beat Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
The Norwegian superstar secured all three points for his side from the penalty spot in the third minute of added time, but he was involved throughout the 90 minutes on 8 February.
After Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring in incredible fashion, Pep Guardiola‘s side needed a miracle on Merseyside, and it came in the shape of Haaland and Bernardo Silva.
While Marc Guehi could have been sent off, it was the Reds who went down to 10 men in the closing stages, with Haaland dragged back by their goalscorer to stop the Citizens from scoring a third.
Although City’s striker was heavily involved in the last few minutes, Wayne Rooney was keen to point out his style of play throughout the game, with the Man United legend left confused by the footage.
Erling Haaland changes his playing style at Anfield
Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day 2 (8 February), Rooney said: “I thought it was a bit of a strange performance, or at least a performance that I’ve not really seen from Erling Haaland.
“Normally, from Haaland, you’re looking at power, you’re looking at pace, and ruthlessness in front of goal. But today, he was a little bit deeper at times and tried to be the player who created chances.“
However, later, when discussing Bernardo’s equaliser, the former striker was wowed, saying: “Now, this is brilliant. This is Erling Haaland. He’s pulled to the back post, wanting to get a header.
“He readjusts his body for the deflection, and it’s a lovely cushioned header to Bernardo Silva to make the game 1-1.”
Man City star’s stats in full after goalscoring heroics vs Liverpool
Despite notching 31 goals and seven assists across all competitions this season, it has been a difficult few weeks for the 25-year-old forward, and that would have been playing on his mind.
Before facing the Reds, he had just one goal in eight games across the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and he often struggles to make a difference at Anfield.
On this occasion, however, he managed to create three chances, unleash three shots on target, have nine touches in the opposition box, miss a big chance, and also made a pass into the final third [FotMob].
Despite winning just 29 per cent of his ground duels and 60 per cent of his aerial duels, he was an absolute nuisance on the pitch, even winning two fouls during the 90 minutes.
He has the ability to drop deeper and add an extra man in the middle of the park, but when he drops back, there appears to be a gaping hole in the centre of the attack.
That is exactly what Rooney noticed during the game, and it is unclear whether that was a tactic deployed by the manager or if Haaland was allowed free rein at Anfield.