Erling Braut Haaland did not convince everyone with his debut in the Champions League. On Tuesday evening, the Norwegian star player was accurate twice in Manchester City’s away game against Sevilla (0-2), but according to Thierry Henry there is still a lot to be done with the attacker’s game. The Frenchman preferred the performance of Kylian Mbappe, who also scored twice in the Champions League, over Haaland’s.
Haaland created a unique experience against Sevilla by scoring in his debut in the Champions League. Never before has a Manchester City player managed to find the net in both Premier League and Champions League debuts. Tuesday evening was the battle between Haaland and Mbappé. The latter managed to score twice in the home game against Juventus (2-1 win). Mbappe now stands at 35 goals in 54 games on the European stage, while Haaland has scored 25 goals in 20 games.
According to Henry, Mbappe is a more complete player than Haaland. “Mbappe can create and finish chances. Haaland does not create chances. He is a real finisher,” Henry concludes at BT Sport. “Mbappe can play left, right and central, Haaland only centrally in the vanguard. Mbappe is a great footballer. Paris Saint-Germain could have won the Champions League with him last year. If I had to choose between Mbappe and Haaland now, choose me for Mbappe.”
Kevin de Bruyne also dropped a critical note towards his colleague. The Belgian was responsible for the 0-1 assist of Haaland against Sevilla. De Bruyne saw Haaland take a position in front of the goal, after which the Norwegian signed for the opening goal while flying. The two City players seem to find each other easily this season anyway. The duo has also scored several times in the Premier League. Nevertheless, there is also slight criticism from the Belgian tastemaker, who believes that Haaland should get more involved in the game.
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There’s his first of the CL season#ZiggoSport #UCL #SEVMCI pic.twitter.com/6dQHBJPRZk— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 6, 2022
Challenge
“The way he has adapted to our game is very good,” De Bruyne began with praise BT Sport. “But our football is more than just scoring goals and that is more difficult for him to adapt to. It is a challenge for him. If Erling can fully adapt to the way we want to play football, then we will go as a team. really level up. It’s up to me to create the chances and I know that somehow Erling will always be there.”