Erling Braut Haaland is the talk of European football. Salzburg may not have made it through
the Champions League group stage, but their 19 year-old forward scored a remarkable 8
goals in 6 games, becoming a fixture in the daily gossip columns in the process.
The label “wonderkid” doesn’t mean anything more than the obvious: a prodigiously talented
young footballer set to make it big. But wonderkids tend to take a certain form. They’re technically
gifted but physically slight; their contributions are promising but lack end-product; they are
individually impressive but lack tactical discipline.
All this makes Haaland a very unusual wonderkid. There’s no doubt that he offers great technical
quality but at just 19 and already 6ft4in he’s already physically developed too. it’s
difficult to think of many attackers who have been so well-rounded in their teenage years.
The final group game of this year’s Champions League, in which RB Salzburg hosted Liverpool,
was the biggest test of Haaland’s career so far. Having only been a substitute for
RB Salzburg’s trip to Anfield in October (he still scored, just four minutes after
coming on), here Haaland started up front against the European champions and against
Virgil van Dijk, officially the world’s best defender and also runner-up to Lionel
Messi for the Ballon d’Or earlier this month.
Haaland wasn’t daunted by that challenge.
Within 10 seconds of the game starting, Salzburg had already sent him sprinting in behind Liverpool’s
centre-backs. Positioned between Dejan Lovren and Van Dijk, this early ball seemed perfect
for Haaland to run onto.
His first touch was decent enough but Van Dijk’s pace proved crucial — he nipped
in ahead, shielded the ball from Haaland, and was able to clear the danger. Van Dijk
had laid down a marker but the youngster had caused problems already.
It also demonstrated his most compelling attribute: his ability to put himself in space whenever
possible.
Haaland is most dangerous when he senses space in open play, in counter-attacking situations.
Once he sees a gap, he charges into it. There was a further example after 20 minutes, when
he found himself down the same flank as strike partner Hwang Hee-chan, and immediately hared
into the space inside.
The pass was eventually slightly overhit and trickled through to goalkeeper Alisson. Lovren
had got himself back into a deeper position, but no one was close to actually tracking
the run.
It was Haaland to a tee: always bursting into the channels, and his relationship with Hwang
– another outstanding talent – is excellent.
Seconds later, with Takumi Minamino carrying the ball forward in an inside-left position,
there was a danger of both Salzburg strikers making the same run.
Instead Hwang changed direction, exploiting the channel nearest to the ball-carrier, which
gave Haaland space to attack the far post.
Minamino slips in Hwang, but his scuffed pass was collected by Alisson, with Haaland waiting
to pounce.
Haaland was also very alert to the possibilities of exploiting space in behind Liverpool’s
full-backs. In this sequence, with left-back Andreas Ulmer on the ball, Trent Alexander-Arnold
moved up the pitch to close him down. Haaland immediately sensed the opportunity and drifted
out towards the left.
After receiving the pass, he played the ball inside and immediately moved into the space
vacated by Alexander-Arnold, on the outside of Lovren.
Following some good interplay in midfield, Salzburg then got Minamino between the lines,
ready to send a pass through to Haaland, breaking through with a classic out-to-in run. His
shot forced a good save from Alisson.
Haaland sometimes did something similar on the right — here, eight minutes before half-time,
he found space in behind Andy Robertson and brought the ball infield to play in a midfield
runner.
But he concentrated more on the inside-left position, and his second good chance of the
night also came from that zone.
Again finding space in behind Alexander-Arnold, and on the outside of Lovren, he received
a long crossfield pass from Zlatko Junuzovic — the type of ball Alexander-Arnold himself
loves to play…
…and, after bringing the ball down, he found himself in a fine goal-scoring position but
hammered the ball into the side netting with his left foot.
It’s also worth reiterating that, while Haaland’s game is largely about bursting
into space, he’s not a head-down, selfish centre-forward. Indeed, his link play throughout
this game was good, and there were various examples of him bringing in a team-mate into
the play.
That was the case after three minutes, when he set up Jerome Onguene for a long-range
drive, then did the same for Hwang shortly afterwards, before more good back-to-goal
play shortly before the hour mark, when he fed Dominik Szoboszlai.
Ultimately, Haaland couldn’t find the net, Liverpool’s defence stood firm, and he was
substituted on 75 minutes with his side 2-0 down and heading out of the Champions League.
But while the game ended in disappointment, this match reflected well upon both Salzburg
and Haaland and on the latter’s ability to potentially thrive in the Premier League.
Few strikers manage to get the better of Liverpool’s defence, and Haaland acquitted himself much
better than most.
It’s no surprise that all of England’s biggest clubs are interested in him. He’s
such a good all-rounder, with time to develop further, that it’s easy to imagine him fitting
well almost anywhere. It’s also been a while since once one of the Premier League’s big
boys have shelled out serious money for a genuine centre-forward — really not since
Arsenal’s signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang nearly two years ago.
But the Norwegian will want regular football, and his current boss Jesse Marsch has previously
suggested a move to Salzburg’s sister club RB Leipzig might be best for his development.
It’s easy to imagine Haaland succeeding in the Premier League, but the Leeds-born
son of Alf-Inge Haaland might not move directly to the country of his birth, with some speculating
that he’ll make a more modest step first before heading
to
a superclub.