Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy says Erling Haaland, while one of the best players in the world, was “ineffective” in Saturday’s FA Cup final.
Two Ilkay Gunodgan goals saw Manchester City to a 2-1 win ahead of the Champions League final this weekend with the treble on the line. However, Haaland failed to score in a fourth consecutive game and travels to Istanbul having netted just one goal in his past seven outings.
The superstar has amassed an astonishing 52 strikes in 52 matches this season, including a record-breaking 36 Premier League goals in 35 appearances. McCarthy hailed Haaland as one of the players among the new generation to be the next global icon but outlined where he still has “loads of room for improvement”.
Speaking to South African radio station 947 Joburg, the United attacking coach said of Haaland: “He’s a great striker, he’s still got loads of room for improvement. He can improve his game a little bit, especially when defenders try and mark him out of the game.
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“I watched the game against Real Madrid and [Antonio] Rudiger was so tight on him, he did not have the solutions. Most defenders use that as a reference. The game against us on Saturday in the FA Cup, he almost was non-existent.
“But they’ve got a great team, players who can pop up from anywhere and score goals and we weren’t able to contain them and take it to extra-time but Haaland was ineffective in that game.
"There is a lot of improvement he can make to his game but overall I think he’s one of the best players that they have and is now taking over from Ronaldo and Messi.”
Ahead of Saturday’s final, Haaland has bagged 12 Champions League goals in 10 matches this season.
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