Don Hutchison has now given an insight into what tends to go “unnoticed” about what Erling Haaland does on the pitch.
As is the case with every striker, Haaland is mainly judged by the number of goals he scores and rightfully so.
It is important for a number nine to be involved in other aspects of the game as well.
But if a striker, unlike the Manchester City goalscorer does not put the ball in the back of the net on a frequent, more often than not, they do become a detriment to their team.
Jamie Carragher recently questioned whether the Norwegian could win the Ballon d’Or one day as he feels his game is far too limited.
Carragher also stated that he feels Haaland is a “great goalscorer, not a great player.”
Hutchison shares what goes “unnoticed” about Haaland on the pitch
It seems like unless the £51 million man becomes a much more effective player in possession, he will still have his fair share of doubters like the Liverpool legend.
There exists a school of thought that Haaland can never be regarded as the best player in the world as there are many more well-rounded stars like him in football.
For instance, the likes of the Leeds-born striker’s own teammates spring to mind.
Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, to name a few.
Despite Haaland scoring his 20 Premier League goal against Luton Town in what has been a season from him that has been much-maligned by fans and pundits.
However, Don Hutchison was quizzed about his thoughts on how Erling Haaland performed on Saturday and he noted how the way he creates space for others goes unnoticed.
“What goes unnoticed I think when everyone watches Erling Haaland is the physical battles, so [Antonio] Rudiger, it was a great watch, him and Erling Haaland last week, that was a fascinating watch between the pair of them”, he said [via ESPN FC].
Hutchison continued, “But sometimes it’s the movement off the ball which creates space for other players so [Julian] Alvarez played today, Kevin De Bruyne, as I said before was magnificent, I’m not sure he’ll start, a tricky one that for Pep [Guardiola] whether he starts KDB [Kevin De Bruyne] and Phil Foden in the same team.”
“But it goes unnoticed I think the work that he does, shifting defenders out of position for midfield runners or wide players to try and expose full-backs one v one.”
Great point made about Erling Haaland
In our view, Don Hutchison is spot on about Erling Haaland.
Haaland is constantly marked closely by centre-backs.
But instead of merely trying to drop deep and get on the ball, the treble-winner is happy to occupy them and allow his teammates to get the chance to take shots and create chances.
Such is the threat Haaland possesses that defences do not feel at ease leaving him unmarked.
Erling Haaland plays a selfless role in this respect, which does not get the credit it deserves.