Gary Neville had boldly made known his predictions to the world before Real Madrid and Manchester City met for their hotly-anticipated Champions League semi-final first leg that the latter with a thundering force like Erling Haaland would be unstoppable at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However this was not to be as the former Man United defender was let down in his prediction as the Nordic wunderkind was effectively shackled by Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba in the hotly-anticipated semi-final clash.
Both teams, undoubtedly two of Europe’s finest, played out a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Estadio Bernabeu on Tuesday, with Kevin De Bruyne stepping out emphatically to cancel out Vinicius Junior’s thunderous opener. Haaland was unable to get his name on the scoresheet, as he was left with no options but to endure a rare off-night.
Haaland was placed in an awkward situation he was clearly unaccustomed to as he actually had the fewest touches of any outfielder and was effectively nullified by a resolute Real Madrid defence, hence failing to add to his incredible tally of 51 goals in all competitions this season. Neville had boldly predicted the opposite and had tipped the 22-year-old Norwegian to shine in Spain.
“A tough one for Madrid tonight,” the Sky Sports pundit wrote on Twitter before kick-off. “Haaland and City in this form will take some stopping.”
Later, he tweeted: “Fancy [Jack] Grealish to step up tonight. Grown into his own the last few months and has started turning up in big games. Haaland to score!”
Former Aston Villa star Grealish, in all fairness to him, performed above expectations in comparison with Haaland and played a key role in the build-up to De Bruyne’s spectacular equaliser, spicing things up with some neat attacking play.
There was much debate engulfing Haaland’s performance post-match with Man City gaffer Pep Guardiola telling BT Sport in his defense of the Nordic striker: “The pockets and distances between the central defender and full-backs was occupied. It was not easy for Erling. He moved well and had his chances.”
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti when approached, noted: “Defensively we were good. Rudiger against Haaland did well and the midfield had control.
“The performance was good and we are happy. We have strong motivation for the next game.
Another ex-Man United defender Rio Ferdinand claimed after the match that Rudiger and Alaba will go down as the strongest center-back pairing Haaland has faced so far during his sensational season with the Cityzens:
“[Rudiger] was excellent. Alaba as well, he made one great block in the second half.
“You’ve got to be aggressive with Haaland. I still don’t think that nullifies him completely but I thought today was the best I’ve seen a centre-back pairing play him.”