When Erling Braut Haaland stood in the players’ tunnel before today’s Premier League opener between West Ham and Manchester City, it was with a serious mine. It looked like a thousand thoughts went through the Norwegian’s head at once. Pressed. The price tag. The boom shots against Liverpool in the Community Shield final. Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez’s start in the red shirt. Who knows? But the 22-year-old never looked nervous out there on the grass on his Premier League debut. He ran. He fought. And he scored. Twice. He himself provided the penalty behind the first one. The debut was absolutely huge, and now the freight train from Jæren is underway. Language error When he was interviewed by Sky Sports in an interview shown on Viaplay after the match, however, he made a real language mistake. When Haaland was asked if he should have scored a hat-trick, he replied: – I should have been there (on the post, journ. note. It was a bit shit), but… – Watch your language, said Sky Sports ‘ reporter. – Oh yes, you can’t say shit in this country, replied the Norwegian and looked clearly embarrassed. For the record: Saying “shit” in England is significantly uglier than saying “shit” in Norwegian. SURE: Haaland was safe from the penalty mark when the chance presented itself. Photo: Frank Augstein / AP news’s football writer Thore Haugstad is impressed by the efforts on the field tonight. – It is crazy to deliver so well, so immediately, after all the expectation and all the pressure that has built up in the last week. He was criticized after the game against Liverpool in the Community Shield. He knows he will hear it if he doesn’t score immediately. And then he delivers. It’s raw, says Haugstad. IMPRESSED: Thore Haugstad. – That perhaps most frightening is that Pep says he is not yet in top form, and that he is not yet very well known t with the teammates. It may seem strange to say after two goals, but he certainly has more to go on, he adds. Close to the head After 20 minutes of the first half – a so far anonymous Haaland – came terribly close. Phil Foden cut in from the right, and in the box an unmarked Haaland was only centimeters away from reaching the post. If he had got his head on the ball, the probability would have been high that he would have managed to steer it behind Lukas Fabianski in the West Ham goal. Instead, he saw the ball go over the dead line. Soon after, he was third last on the ball when Kevin de Bruyne put the ball in the West Ham box, but Ilkay Gündogan was offside when Haaland flicked the ball to the German. Unfortunately for the home team, Fabianski had to leave with an injury after just under half an hour. Enter Alphonse Aréola. And it wouldn’t be many minutes before he arrived in the city centre. Penalty opening Gündogan hit a sparkling stick into the box against Haaland soon after. The Norwegian was lightning fast after the bullet and just managed to get his right foot on it, before Aréola pulled him down at great speed. Haaland hardly had time to hit the ball in the goal, but knew exactly what he was doing. Referee Michael Oliver pointed to the penalty mark. And of course Haaland took the penalty himself. Jærbuen sent Aréola to the right and put the ball to the left, hard along the ground, via the bar. He then pulled out his signature celebration, where he sat in a “yoga position”, with his eyes closed, while his teammates towered over him. – It’s the first Premier League match, and when he gets that start it’s fantastic. I sat up with the City supporters and everyone looked at me when he was going to take it (the penalty kick), father Alfie Haaland told Viaplay during the break. IN KNOWN STYLE: This is how Haaland celebrated after his first goal in the Premier League. Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP West Ham were far more involved in the game initially after the break, but after ten minutes of the second half, Haaland came close to another great opportunity after combining well with de Bruyne and Gündogan, but the latter failed when he tried to push the ball aside to the Norwegian in the box. Shortly afterwards, West Ham’s new signing Gianluca Scamacca made his debut for the Londoners. The striker came on for Michail Antonio after 57 minutes. The Italian showed head power and physicality on several occasions. Signature score Haaland was close to getting his second after an hour of play, but the 22-year-old just couldn’t reach a good and hard cross along the ground from de Bruyne. Instead, he was possibly left a bit in the way when Gündogan shot from the back post. Instead, West Ham, led by Declan Rice, played more into the game. The home team saw more of the ball, and won it increasingly higher up the field. However, it was not all good news for David Moyes’ team. Because when they got the team higher in the pitch, it meant more space for Erling Braut Haaland to run in. And the Norwegian only needed one opportunity when the chance presented itself. De Bruyne received the ball centrally, hit a sparkling stick in the back room and there the Norwegian came all alone with Aréola. THANK YOU FOR TODAY: One can assume that Pep Guardiola was pleased with the debut of his new pupil. Photo: Frank Augstein / AP He made it – again – look easy, when he steered the ball along the ground in the far corner with his left foot. The scoring was similar to something we have seen him do many times before for Dortmund. – The second goal is precisely the type that Haaland has envisioned scoring at City, with De Bruyne in the team. We knew there was going to be little room for him at City. But what little room there is, he seems to find, says Thore Haugstad. After the 2–0 score, the match was practically over. The pace slowed. City had the ball. And Haaland was replaced. 77 minutes had been played when the Norwegian striker, possibly somewhat displeased, was taken off in favor of Bernardo Silva. And not much more happened in the match. Thus, both Haaland and City have had the start to this year’s season they could wish for.
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Erling Braut Haaland scored two in his debut for Manchester City – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
