Manchester City striker Erling Haaland had a night to forget in the Champions League against Simone Inzaghi’s Inter, while 36-year-old Nerazzurri centre-back Francesco Acerbi received praise aplenty for his performance against the Premier League’s top scorer.
Acerbi nullifies Haaland again
Acerbi was able to keep Haaland quiet during the 0-0 Champions League draw at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, much like he did in the Champions League final back in 2023.
On Wednesday, Haaland registered just one shot on target in the allocated 90 minutes. He didn’t complete any successful dribbles and was limited to just 14 touches of the ball all night.
Additionally, the Inter defenders forced the Norwegian to turn the ball over on three occasions, and did not foul him once.
Acerbi, meanwhile, did not even have to make a tackle on Haaland at any point, did not lose control of the ball at any point and also ended the game with a 95% pass completion rate.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola felt that it was not just Acerbi’s efforts that limited Haaland’s productivity. He felt that it was more of a team effort, and suggested that there were in fact six defenders who were focussed on stopping the dangerman.
“One man? I saw six,” Guardiola told the press. “Three close to him and three in front of him. It’s difficult for everyone, for any player in the world playing in that position against Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni, Calhanoglu, Barella and Zielinski.
“We should have had more players running into the space. We did it twice with Gundogan and once with Phil Foden in front of the goalkeeper. Otherwise, transitions, but they are physically stronger than we are.”
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When KDB was off, he was off
When KDB was off, no ball to him