Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has said that Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland was virtually anonymous in the FA Cup final.
The former Blackburn Rovers striker was on South African radio station 947 Joburg when he was quizzed about the £51.2 million (The Athletic) man.
According to Benni McCarthy, as brilliant a player has Erling Haaland has proven to be at Manchester City, he was ‘ineffective’ against Manchester United in his side’s 2-1 win last Saturday.
Benni McCarthy says Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was ‘ineffective’ against Manchester United
In fact, many have been critical of the fact that often, Haaland can be slightly uninvolved in games.
Troy Deeney pinpointed that while the 22-year-old may seem quiet in certain games, his patience and ability to find space in the box makes him the perfect man up top for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Now, Benny McCarthy has claimed that Erling Haaland put in a forgettable display for Manchester City against Manchester United in the recent FA Cup final.
“He’s a great striker, he’s still got loads of room for improvement. He can improve his game a little bit, especially when defenders try and mark him out of the game. I watched the game against Real Madrid and [Antonio] Rudiger was so tight on him, he did not have the solutions. Most defenders use that as a reference. The game against us on Saturday in the FA Cup, he almost was non-existent.”
Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy doubled down on his take about Manchester City fan favourite Erling Haaland, saying, “But they’ve got a great team, players who can pop up from anywhere and score goals and we weren’t able to contain them and take it to extra-time but Haaland was ineffective in that game.”
Harsh on Erling Haaland in the FA Cup final
While Benni McCarthy is right in saying that Erling Haaland has room to improve, to say he was ‘non-existent’ for Manchester City against Manchester United is over-the-top.
In the first half in particular, the double winner’s hold-up play was top-drawer, as he brought his teammates into play at all times.
For Ilkay Gundogan’s opener as well, it was Erling Haaland who won the initial header that got the ball rolling for City to make the perfect start.
With the Sky Blues generally being quite off-the-pace at Wembley Stadium and not creating much going forward, not much could have been expected from Haaland on the day.
