‘Rodri was upset’… Pundit says Man City have a player who just wasn’t good enough in 1-1 draw vs Liverpool

Redaction Simon Brett with Srinivas Sadhanand
Published on 2024-03-11 16:00:00

In the 1-1 draw between Manchester City and Liverpool at Anfield, Erling Haaland came under fire from pundits for his lackluster performance.

Former player Jay Bothroyd criticized the Norwegian striker for being too uninvolved in the game, with Joey Barton even calling him anonymous and claiming that Jarrell Quansah kept him quiet.

Stewart Robson also joined in the criticism, pointing out that Haaland failed to do more to get on the ball and support Kevin De Bruyne, as he had done against Arsenal in the past.

Bothroyd’s comments focused on Haaland needing to do more even when he doesn’t score, especially against strong teams like Liverpool.

“I think this is the reason why Rodri was upset. When Liverpool are pressing and they’ve got no outlet, the only thing they can do is put it up to [Erling] Haaland, he has to get hold of the ball”, he said on Sky Sports.

Jay Bothroyd claimed that considering how tall and strong Erling Haaland is, he should have taken more of an onus to dominate the Liverpool defence for his Manchester City side.

“You’re not putting it up to [Sergio] Aguero, just like five foot seven. You’re putting it up to someone that’s six foot four, he’s strong, everyone knows that, he has to get hold of that ball.”

“And it becomes frustrating because when you lose it, Liverpool come straight back at you and Rodri’s the one putting in all the tackles and the midfielders are the ones that are defending. He needs to do more when he doesn’t score and that’s my criticism of Haaland.”

“He’s a great goalscorer, he’s a threat, he will occupy defenders. But when he’s playing against top teams like Liverpool, [Virgil] Van Dijk and [Jarrell] Quansah yesterday, when he played in the Champions League last year, in the final, it was the same kind of thing.”

Bothroyd continued, “He’s not really involved in the game and he’s not held to the same standards as other strikers because of his goalscoring ability. Like Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa. If Ollie Watkins touches the ball 10 times, he’s had a bad game and it’s the same with everyone else pretty much.”

“If they touch the ball 10 times, they’ve had a bad game. I remember when I used to play, if I’m touching the ball 15 times and I haven’t scored, I’ve been marked out of the game. When people used to say that to me, that would hurt me, ‘you’ve been marked out of the game.’ I think, overall, he was marked out of the game by Quansah and Van Dijk.”

Overall, the consensus among pundits is that Erling Haaland needs to step up his game and be more involved, especially in crucial matches against top teams.

While his goal-scoring ability is unquestionable, his overall contribution to the team is under scrutiny, and adjustments may be needed to maximize his impact on the pitch.

Read Original article on Manchester City News