The Norwegian striker is the number 1 scorer in the Premier League, which everyone knows. But there is information that will surely make many people fall back: Erling Haaland is also in the Top 8 best assists in the Premier League 2022/23. Indeed, Haaland is evolving to be perfect.
“Perfectly” Assasin
Up to this point of the Premier League 2022/23, after 37 rounds, overtaking the extraordinary number of 36 goals, Haaland has pocketed 8 assists to his teammates, ranked 8th in the list of assists. best in the league, behind Kevin De Bruyne (16 times), Bukayo Saka (11), Mohamed Salah (11), Riyad Mahrez (10), Michael Olise (10), Leandro Trossard (10) and James Maddison (9) . Looking at this clear-cut statistic, everyone must feel amazed and wonder: “Has Haaland created more than other creative stars of Man City like Jack Grealish or Ilkay Gundogan?”. It’s hard to believe, and in fact, not many people pay attention to those 8 “cleaning up” times of Haaland, because the 22-year-old striker’s terrifying goal-scoring ability has overshadowed everything.
Thinking of Haaland is thinking of goals, the rest is secondary. This is not wrong because people often focus on the strongest point of a player. For example, referring to De Bruyne is to immediately count the number of assists despite the large number of times the Belgian player’s name is entered on the electronic board. Or with Cristiano Ronaldo, the number of goals scored in each game, assists or not does not matter much. However, from a technical perspective, we will see a bigger, more general picture in Haaland’s constant efforts to evolve and improve himself. The former Dortmund striker is very good at tearing the opponent’s net, but he still wants more. Instead of just “hanging in the hammock”, lying in the penalty area waiting for the opportunity to score, Haaland retreated deeply, participated more in the team’s overall play and was ready to take on a constructive role.
Evolve to perfection
In the trip to Brighton in the Premier League on May 24 , Haaland had a situation to escape to his forte in the 25th minute after a favorable pass from Riyad Mahrez. The Norwegian striker faced goalkeeper Jason Steele with a relatively wide shot. With the “killer” instinct, Haaland can of course completely score a goal on his own, especially after missing a similar opportunity a few minutes ago. However, Haaland decided to pass it to teammate Phil Foden who was crossing the penalty area in an unmarked position. The England player did not miss the gift given to him by Haaland, scoring the opening goal for Man City.
It was Foden’s first goal in three consecutive Premier League games, but most importantly, it represented an evolution in Haaland’s attacking play. It is a steel proof that in addition to scoring, the striker born in 2000 can also create. With 52 goals in all competitions this season, Haaland began to give back to his teammates. In the last 13 appearances, Haaland has 4 assists, nearly double his own record compared to the previous 38 appearances. On all fronts, Haaland has imprinted his shoes on 44 goals for Man City in the Premier League, equaling the record set by Thierry Henry in the 2002/03 season.
Coach Pep Guardiola wants Haaland’s all-round play to improve throughout the season, and Haaland has insisted he can add more to the game. The matches against Bayern in the Champions League or Arsenal in the Premier League in April are prime examples of how effectively Haaland can drop deep, to pull opposing defenders out of position, thereby allowing Allows teammates to exploit the huge space behind.
Sharing about Haaland’s constant evolution over time, midfielder Rodri said: “He has been fantastic for us this season. Not only because Erling scored, but also because he always wants to learn, improve and integrate with the team. Now, Erling is no longer playing like at the beginning of the season. He can drop deep, play with one touch, hold the ball, play with his back to goal, a lot of things. Erling is too young and always wants to keep improving.”
Just one more pass in the remaining 3 matches, Haaland will reach the milestone of 10 assists in all competitions in the very first season of Man City’s debut. Good goalscoring, good assists, Haaland is on the way to becoming an almighty “killer”. It’s hard to expect more from Haaland, because he has done so well. Man City is clearly too lucky to have in the squad a true super striker named Erling Haaland.
Haaland believes Man City will have a hard time before MU
When asked about rivals MU in the FA Cup final here, Haaland shared: “MU will do everything possible to prevent us from winning this match. To have a chance to win we have to give our best at Wembley on June 3. Being appreciated is a good thing, because it means we are a quality team. We have to attack in our own way and in the end, let’s see who wins.”
