Jarrad Branthwaite has hailed Manchester City striker Erling Haaland for his performance against Everton.
Earlier this month, the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium where City beat the travelling Toffees 2-0 thanks to a second-half brace from Haaland.
The second goal saw the Norwegian get on the end of a long-ball pass from Kevin De Bruyne and then sprint towards the Everton goal, tussling and eventually shaking off Branthwaite before sliding the ball past Jordan Pickford.
With some time now having gone by since this game, the Everton defender has been speaking out about what it was like to come face to face on the pitch with the 23-year-old City striker.
Branthwaite speaks out on Haaland battle
Speaking in a recent video shared on the BBC Sport Tik Tok channel, Branthwaite had this to say about Haaland and their recent battle.
He said: “Obviously a top player. As you can see in the game he had two chances, two goals. It shows the levels he’s performing at.
“It was a tough game, obviously, I had the second goal, the little incident where I tripped over and he went through and scored.
“Every game I’m still learning, I’ll look back at that and learn what to do from that and take it into future games.”
Looking back over the game, City certainly kept Branthwaite busy as he ended the game having made five clearances, four tackles and blocked two shots.
He also managed to win six of the eight duels he was involved in, further highlighting his defensive capabilities.
From his point of view, it’s a shame that he couldn’t get the best of Haaland before the second goal, although very few defenders find it easy to win a physical battle with the City star, especially when he’s running with the ball at speed.
