Champions LeagueErling Braut Haaland (22) has not been able to hurt his old love. The Norwegian star of Manchester City did receive respect in Dortmund, but he was not awarded a goal in the 45 minutes he played. The story of an evening watching Haaland.
Gradually he has assumed mythical forms. Erling Halland. 22 years old. If he says what meat he eats, that is world news. It’s because of his terrifying stats, of course. Seventeen goals in his first eleven Premier League games. The makers of the Football Manager game weren’t sure what to do with him. In the test versions of the latest edition of the popular computer game, he always proved too good. A cheat code. The bug has yet to be fixed before release.
“Haaland will always remain in our hearts.” The words of one of the stewards of the Signal Iduna Park, which was renamed the BVB Stadium tonight due to sponsorship interests, pretty much summed up the general sentiment of the home crowd. A round of applause in advance. The Norwegian is not easily impressed. He looked around calmly and enjoyed that Gelbe Wand while warming up. They had a lot of fun together. Afterwards he made a lap of honour, he was sung to and he gave away his shirt.
No hostility, no successor
So there was no hostility. The mutual respect between player and club is too great for that. In 89 appearances for Die Borussen he scored no less than 86 times. Moreover, Dortmund is too big an institution to be faint about the departure of its superstar. The ‘Traditionsverein’ has its place in global football and it’s not as if Haaland had moved to nemesis Bayern Munich on his Lewandowskis or Götzes.
However, the Germans were keen on a strong performance against their former child prodigy. The results in the Bundesliga are so-so. Only fifth. In addition, BVB is looking for the next attacker who can continue the tradition of top strikers. The Dutchman Donyell Malen seems to fall short. Unlucky Sébastien Haller is recovering from prostate cancer. Anthony Modeste is more of an interim pope and the very young Youssoufa Moukoko is still too green – he missed a huge opportunity. Then Karim Adeyemi, just like Haaland picked up at RB Salzburg, made a better turn. Well, the battle is still open.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung announced the match as ‘Das Duell der Schwerweighte’. In other words, Haaland (1m94 for 88 kilograms) versus Niklas Süle (1m95 for 99 kilograms). In reality, Dortmund’s three-man defense collectively captured the world star. It worked out nicely. He only got one shot. Blocked by Hummels.
De Bruyne on the couch
The fact that City did not act at its strongest played a role. For example, reserve goalkeeper Ortega was in goal and more importantly: Kevin De Bruyne remained on the bench. Instead, the Argentine striker Alvarez played, which also changed the system somewhat. It was searching for City. It ticked around nicely, but had to be wary of the home team’s quick counter punches. Fueled by his fanatical following and with Adeyemi’s speed as his main weapon. Thorgan Hazard (81′) played his match on the left wing. Dortmund failed to score in the first half.
Pep Guardiola had seen enough after 45 minutes. “Haaland was feverish and tired before the match, hence the substitution,” said the Spaniard afterwards. City are currently second in the Premier League and this weekend a meeting with the revived Leicester awaits. Losing points in your own country is out of the question. It made it a homecoming without shine, although Pep’s decision was punished almost immediately. Just before the hour, City were awarded a penalty. Not Haaland, but Mahrez did the honors. The Algerian, unlike Haaland no cheat code on Football Manager, didn’t get past Kobel. Die Gelbe Wand cheered, for the only time that Tuesday night. It remained 0-0. With that, both teams assured themselves of wintering in the Champions League. Man City is group winner.
After the whistle, Haaland made a lap of honour. He gave away his shirt and was sung to. So it was okay with the fever. He was even the last to reach City’s team bus, because he had to catch up with so many old acquaintances. That match against Leicester must be successful. Wout Faes has been warned about this.
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