Rio Ferdinand admits he was wrong about just how good Erling Haaland would be at Man City after stellar start
Rio Ferdinand has admitted he was wrong in his original assessment of Erling Haaland, describing the Norwegian sensation’s early form in the Premier League for Manchester City as “unheard of”.
Haaland, 22, has started the 2022/23 campaign like a house on fire both domestically and in Europe. Under Pep Guardiola’s tutelage, the Scandinavian sharp-shooter has bagged 20 goals in all competitions already, coming in just 13 appearances.
Erling Haaland news: Ferdinand admits he was wrong
- Rio Ferdinand has confessed he didn’t think Haaland would be as prolific as he has been when he first joined City (click here for full quotes).
- The ex-Man Utd defender has described City’s goal fiend as “a Sunday league player who’s overage”.
- Haaland has scored 15 Premier League goals in just nine games, only eight shy of last season’s ‘Golden Boot’ tally (23).
- The Norwegian next takes on Copenhagen in the UCL and Sky Bet are offering enhanced odds of 15/2 (was 6/1) on him to score a hat-trick.
The former Borussia Dortmund superstar was once again on the scoresheet at the weekend as City battered Southampton, already matching Guardiola’s most prolific Premier League player from last season in Kevin De Bruyne (15 goals), an incredible feat just nine games in.
“No one knew what he would do,” Ferdinand told BT Sport’s Premier League Tonight. “I am a big enough man to admit this guy is doing different bits now, it’s unheard of. It is stupid really.
“It is like a Sunday league player who’s overage, you know you get ringers who just take the game by storm and you find out two years later he was overage, and he is doing that here in the Premier League. People always throw the question ‘he’s in Germany, though – he’s doing that over there, he’s not doing it here’
FC Copenhagen vs Man City: Betting Tips
- Man City to win both halves & Copenhagen most booking points @1/1 with Sky Bet
- Erling Haaland to score two or more and Man City to win @ 11/8 with Sky Bet
“I was only concerned about one thing and that was can he score the type of goals he did before. When you look at his showreel, a lot of his goals were running onto things, on the break, in transitions.
“At City they’ve got possession all the time and teams are sat back, can you find the little spaces to score the goals. That’s about instinct and understanding the game, he said to everybody do not question me ever again.”
