Steve Nicol praised Liverpool for how they nullified one of Manchester City’s highest-profile players during the teams’ 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sunday.
Erling Haaland came into the fixture with eight goals in his previous three matches (Sofascore), but his influence on proceedings was brilliantly curbed by the Reds throughout the afternoon.
As per Sofascore, the 6 foot 4 Norwegian was restricted to only one shot all day (he’s averaged four per game this season), and he completed a measly 12 passes despite playing for the full match. Mateo Kovacic, who came on as a 69th-minute substitute, had more than twice as many.
Speaking on ESPN FC, Nicol said: “Haaland is 16 foot tall – I forgot he was on the field. Phil Foden had his chance, but other than that, in the second half you never saw him, and that was down to Liverpool.”
The Man City striker’s subdued afternoon was summed up by how Virgil van Dijk tracked him every step of the way when the 23-year-old was bearing down on goal during the first half, with the eventual shot amounting to nothing.
Very few teams will do as good a job as Liverpool at stifling a phenomenon who’s struck 81 goals in 86 games since the start of last season (Transfermarkt). That’s an enormous credit to the Reds who played yesterday, in particular the back four for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
You can view Nicol’s comments below (from 1:54), via ESPN UK on YouTube:
I fully agree with you on that one. Virgil van Dijk pocketed Haaland to a subdued game. Haaland was out of his depth and couldn’t do a thing as the Liverpool defenders man-marked him out of it. What a game of football