ERLING HAALAND completed just two passes against Bournemouth – by far the lowest total by a Manchester City player under Pep Guardiola.
The first of Haaland’s meagre EIGHT touches in a 4-0 home win set up an Ilkay Gundogan opener… and his other pass kicked off the second half.
The Premier League’s star summer recruit went from invincible to invisible in just six days, with barely-believable stats.
And his shocking figures for passing were certainly not misleading as his overall match stats were just as miserable.
Haaland was a two-goal matchwinner on his debut at West Ham last Sunday but this time he had to wait 18 minutes to even touch the ball.
And by the time Julian Alvarez replaced him in the 74th minute with City 3-0 up, he had won NO duels on the ground or in the air.
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The Norwegian, 22, also failed to complete a dribble or win a foul.
But Etihad chief Pep Guardiola blamed Haaland’s lack of involvement on Bournemouth’s defensive set-up.
The Spaniard said: “The most difficult job in the world is when you’re a striker vs a [defence] with three CMs, three CBs and you’re in the middle.
“We’ll find many of these but it’s a question of time. With the quality we have, we’ll find him.”
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But however you look at it, even Guardiola must be staggered by Haaland’s stats as City are the Prem’s short-passing specialists.
Haaland’s two-pass compilation compares with the next worst total during Guardiola’s six-year reign of nine – registered once each by Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Ferran Torres.
But social media was split on the ex-Borussia Dortmund hero’s quiet afternoon – hardly surprising as it is just one game and the bigger picture is his incredible scoring record.
One fan claimed: “Haaland did exactly what was needed of him – he was Bournemouth’s sole focus the entire first half.
“They tried to mark him out of the game, which opened up space for de Bruyne, Foden, Mahrez, and Gundogan.”
And another noted that Inter Milan hitman Romelu Lukaku was lambasted for similar stats at the height of his Chelsea plight.
That supporter tweeted: “The media destroyed Lukaku for having 7 touches in a game, let’s see how they treat the golden boy Haaland for having 8 touches v newly promoted Bournemouth.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
