‘He’s not been in great form’… Chris Sutton says Man City really have a player who’s been ‘rusty all season’

Redaction Simon Brett with Srinivas Sadhanand
Published on 2024-02-22 16:30:00

Former footballer Chris Sutton has criticized Erling Haaland, claiming that the player has appeared “rusty” throughout the 2023/2024 season.

However, this statement has been met with backlash from other football figures. Simon Jordan called it “ridiculous” to question Haaland’s performance, emphasizing that he is the Premier League’s top goalscorer with 17 goals. Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko also expressed his belief that Haaland is the best player in the Premier League.

Despite criticism, Haaland’s performance has been impressive, with 22 goals in 25 starts in the Premier League and Champions League combined.

However, his recent failure to score against Chelsea led to an increase in criticism of his form. Chris Sutton’s remarks were made in response to this, with him stating that Haaland has not looked his best since the season began.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola defended Haaland after his game-winning goal against Brentford, advising critics to refrain from criticizing him. He also emphasized Haaland’s ability to silence his critics with his performances on the pitch.

It is clear that Haaland’s high standards have led to exaggerated criticism, as no other striker would be referred to as “rusty” with such impressive goal-scoring statistics.

Haaland’s finishing may not have been as lethal as last season, but his overall performance has been commendable. Despite this, the criticisms have not affected Haaland’s confidence, and he plans to continue his goal-scoring run until the end of the season to prove his critics wrong.

Read Original article on Manchester City News