Rodri has been speaking about Erling Haaland and believes the Manchester City striker was ‘anxious’ when he first came to the club.
The Norwegian superstar has enjoyed a fine start to the 2023/24 season, scoring 19 goals in 22 appearances so far.
Although he has missed quite a few big chances this term, he has pretty much picked up where he left off last season.
Haaland has been unbelievable since his £51 million move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, but Rodri has surprisingly revealed the 23-year-old was actually a little bit anxious at first…
Rodri says Erling Haaland was ‘anxious’ in his early days at Manchester City
Rodri has done an interview with AS and spoken about a number of topics, including his Etihad teammate Haaland.
Haaland is known for being an unreal goalscorer, and it is not unusual for him to have very few touches in games.
Rodri has suggested there is now a conscious effort from Haaland to ensure that he is staying in the box to get on the end of chances. Rodri says that, in his early days, Haaland had been a little bit ‘anxious’ to get involved more in games.
He said: “Those who know him from before and look at him now will know that he is completely different in terms of occupying spaces and knowing what to do. At the start, you could see he was anxious. He understood we were a different team, who spent a lot of time on the ball, he knew he wasn’t going to participate as much, that he had to wait for the moment to strike.
“They’re things that one has to adapt to and learn. Now I see him as much more positive. He says to me, ‘Rodri, control of the game, control of the game, forget about me’. That’s understanding the team.”
Haaland has come to learn the City way
It is very interesting to hear this assessment from Rodri considering Haaland’s incredible goalscoring record for City.
The numbers of 71 goals in 75 games speak for themselves, but arguably, he actually could have a lot more goals to his name.
In the beginning, Haaland – who recently came in second in the Goal50 rankings – probably was a little ‘anxious’ in terms of wanting to come and be a part of the buildup. But he has come to realise that his teammates spend a lot of time on the ball in a bid to create that perfect opening for him.
He knows he has to be patient, because the chances will eventually fall to him. There is no point in him continually dropping deep, because then there may not be anyone on the end of the chances.
