Craig Burley has claimed that one Manchester City player had a rather disappointing season.
After beating West Ham United 3-1 on the final day of the Premier League campaign last weekend, the Blues secured their sixth title in seven years and became the first side to win four in a row.
In addition to that, City ended up scoring more goals throughout the campaign than any other side in the division, having found the back of the net 96 times.
Despite that, one pundit has questioned the performances of one player in the City squad who scored a significant number of the 96 goals Pep Guardiola’s team racked up.
Pundit says Erling Haaland had a poor season
Speaking in a recent video shared on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Burley had this to say after choosing to not include Erling Haaland in his team of the season.
He said: “There have been times I’ve sat here and said the way they’ve played at times hasn’t been helpful to getting him chances because of the way they’ve knocked it around and he got frustrated, but I don’t think he’s been brilliant.
“Do I think Manchester City would have still won the league, and they’ve done this before, without Erling Haaland? I think the answer is yes.
“As good as he can be, would Arsenal have still been in the title race to the end without [Bukayo] Saka? No. Would Chelsea have been sixth without [Cole] Palmer? No. And Phil Foden, you could argue he’s been more important than any of them in the second half of the season.
“So, Erling Haaland is a great striker, I don’t think he had a great season.
“He got a decent amount of goals, a lot of penalties, but some of his performances, a lot of his performances, when City did get on the ball, left a lot to be desired. And so he doesn’t make my team.”
Haaland’s goals were crucial for City
Across his 31 league games this season, the Norwegian scored 27 goals in total, giving him another Golden Boot award.
His overall performances earned the striker a season rating of 7.4/10 from WhoScored, making him the ninth-highest-rated player in the league.
In comparison to last season, Haaland scored 36 league goals in 35 league games and earned himself a season rating of 7.54/10.
So while his numbers may have dipped slightly from his extraordinary debut season last term, the striker still proved himself to be a vital figure for City.