09 June 2023 , 16:00
1114
0
Erling Haaland could not resist a cheeky dig at Manchester City team-mate and friend Jack Grealish after his record-breaking debut season.
Haaland slotted into life at City straight away, plundering 52 goals in all competitions, breaking records and picking up a stack of personal awards. In contrast, winger Grealish took a season to settle at City following his British record £100million move from Aston Villa two years ago.
Asked if he was surprised he had adapted to life at City so quickly, Haaland could not resist a playful swipe at his pal Grealish. “I told Jack sometimes players need maybe a year or something to come into the new league, new team and everything,” said a smiling Haaland.
“And sometimes players come directly in and perform. I told him this! That was one game, the Community Shield, where I missed a couple of big chances.
“It can happen, it will happen again. What can you do? Nothing. We have to focus on the next thing, the next game and that’s what I did. I scored two goals in the next game, so it was still not a bad start.”
Pep Guardiola went back on his word after blocking last-ditch Barcelona transfer
Despite his heroics, Haaland goes into tomorrow's final with just one goal in his last seven games, although he was quick to defend his scoring record. “You can think of it as one goal in seven games or 52 goals in 52 games and eight assists, I think,” said Haaland.
“You can think of it in both ways. I’m not stressed. I feel really good. I didn’t expect to score this many goals but, again, I could have scored more. I’ve been missing a lot of chances, so I could have scored more. That’s the truth.”
Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland share a close relationship on and off the pitch (Getty Images)And Inter Milan boss Simon Inzaghi has got his players studying footage of Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger ahead of the final after he kept Haaland quiet in the first leg of their semi-final clash. "Haaland says City bought him to win the Champions League and that says everything. But it's Manchester City v Inter, not Haaland v Inter," said Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni.
"I have seen a video of Rudiger in the semi-final. He managed to contain Haaland very well so maybe that's an example we can use. We will try to copy what he did. Are we afraid? We should be afraid of assassins or other bad people, not footballers.
"Saying you're afraid is a mistake. You have to be as brave as you can. We know City are a strong team who can cause problems when they get close to goal. We will analyse them this week and prepare for them."