Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville debated Erling Haaland on the ‘Monday Night Football’ show when selecting their Premier League teams of the season: “When he has faced elite defenses…”
Barring a huge surprise, Erling Haaland will finish the season as the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner for the second consecutive year. However, the 25 goals scored by the Norwegian with two matchdays left in the league are not, for some, sufficient reasons to include the ‘cyborg’ in the team of the season.
Former players Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville debated on ‘Monday Night Football’ about their respective team selections, and while the former Manchester United player placed Erling Haaland as his leading striker, the Liverpool legend explained why he had chosen Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa’s forward, instead.
“The reason I would go for Ollie Watkins is that there isn’t much difference in the numbers when you combine goals and assists (19 and 13 in Premier League). Plus, he plays for Aston Villa, whereas (Erling Haaland) plays for Manchester City. When I think about Erling Haaland this season, listen, we know he’s the best forward, we get it, but this season, I think in the biggest matches, Haaland has disappointed me a bit,” Carragher said, according to AS.
Despite having scored 36 goals in all competitions to date, the performance of Manchester City’s star has been questioned for much of the season. The former English player adds that, “in the Champions League against Real Madrid, or in matches against Arsenal and Liverpool, when he has faced elite defenders, they have brought out the best in them.”
Antonio Rüdiger, William Saliba, and Virgil van Dijk have nullified the ‘cyborg’ in their individual duels throughout the season.
Nonetheless, Erling Haaland has been nominated by the Premier League for both the ‘Player of the Season’ and ‘Young Player of the Season’ awards. Hence, Gary Neville did include the Norwegian in his dream team.
“He’s a special player. He’s one of the best scorers in the world. His numbers will dominate world football for the next five, six, or seven years, in my opinion. And he has to be there. You might think about giving someone else a chance, and that would be the emotional and compassionate way to see it, but every club in the league, if they could name a center forward and choose one, they would name him,” he said.
