Thierry Henry Points Out The Problem With Erling Haaland's Game After Norwegian Goes Goalless vs Real Madrid

French legend Thierry Henry is the newest addition to the list of former players attacking Erling Haaland on his recent form. Haaland went goalless in Manchester City's 1st leg of the UCL quarter-final against Real Madrid. The match was as exhilarating as any UCL quarter-final could get, with both sides scoring 3 goals each. Despite City's excellent performance at the Santiago Bernabeu, Haaland once again became the center of attention for all the bad reasons as he was criticized heavily for not being at his A-game in a big match. The Norwegian has been receiving quite negative remarks from sports pundits and former players like Roy Keane, Rafael van der Vaart, and most recently, Arsenal and French legend Thierry Henry. 

Although Haaland has not been scoring regularly lately, there is no denying how incredible he is in front of the goal. He has been outstanding for City since joining the club in July 2022. Haaland is currently the top-scorer in the Premier League, with 19 goals to his name. He was the top-scorer in the Premier League as well as in the Champions League last season, having guided City to a treble- FA Cup, Premier League and the Champions League. Sports pundits and fans think that Haaland needs to work on his all-round abilities as a player, instead of simply scoring goals. 

Thierry Henry pointed out one major defect in Haaland's abilities that has restricted him from finding his feet in recent games. Here's what the French legend said:

"I always say that I've seen strikers not scoring but playing well for the team away from home and doing exactly what you need to for your team away from home, or even at home." 

"But more often than not you judge a striker for his goals - fair enough, we already know that. People can get better and I believe in that. But there is one thing that he doesn't do ever so well, and he's always shoulder to shoulder with the defender, so you can go like this, and get your foot around." 

"But if you are like this [square on, hand on defender's shoulder] there is no way you can get that ball now. I've created a distance, you can't get the ball. Even at three-quarters, you can protect the ball. Afterwards, it's all about your quality, but you can't let the defender get their leg around you, or get an arm around you, you have to grab it first then dictate." 

Manchester City will now host Real Madrid in the 2nd leg of the UCL quarter-final on Wednesday, 17th April.