After a record-breaking debut season in English football, Erling Haaland has set a new standard for goalscoring across world football.
With 52 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions, the big Norwegian has the opportunity to fire Manchester City to glory in this Saturday’s UEFA Champions League Final, a match that could put the cherry on top of a remarkable first year in Manchester.
We spoke to Bet9ja Ambassador Victor Ikpeba, about what will be going through Haaland’s head as he lines up for the biggest match of his career.
Haaland first odds goalscorer vs Inter: 3.60
Haaland’s form
VI: Erling Haaland has been in sensational form this season, and with setting the record for the most goals in an English Premier League season, will have very high standards for himself coming into this match. He’s young and hungry- who can defend against him? He’s in the form of his life, how will Inter cope with him? TIme will tell. Fortunately for Inter, one of their key defenders, Milan Skriniar, is looking to return from injury for the final. Haaland is so quick and powerful that a lot of defenders struggle to deal with him, so Skriniar might be the best option that Milan have in order to keep him quiet.
Big game nerves
VI: Will Haaland be nervous ahead of the biggest game of his career? Despite never playing in a World Cup or a game as big as this, after winning the Premier League and the FA Cup Final, Haaland will be very confident. He doesn’t strike me as a player who gets nervous- people think of him as a kind of goalscoring machine, and he’ll want to impress and get the job done on Saturday.
Ballon D’Or winner?
VI: Will Haaland be a dead-cert for the Ballon D’Or if Manchester City win the treble? I wouldn’t say that it would be an absolute certainty, but he would be the leader in that race. We’ve never seen a player make such an impressive impact to a team in their first season.
It wasn’t like City were a bad side, but Haaland was the missing link. His numbers have been amazing, and statistics definitely favour him. If he can score in the Champions League Final I think he’ll be favourite to be named as the world’s best player – Messi finally winning the FIFA World Cup and completing his trophy cabinet was an amazing moment, but I don’t think that you can win the Ballon D’Or based on an international tournament when you’ve got someone like Erling Haaland who has been breaking records all year.
How do you see the UEFA Champions League Final going? Bet here at Bet9ja!
