Dortmund representatives were asked at a press conference if they had a plan to stop Haaland. What was their reaction?

Erling Haaland is already one of the three best top forwards you will find in the world at the age of 22. And how to defend him is definitely the most talked about thing in the locker room before a game with him. The same question has now been put to the representatives of Dortmund, who face a clash with Manchester City today.

In the current season, the Norwegian striker already has 12 goals scored in 8 matches. He has scored a goal every 54 minutes and if his teammates, especially Phil Foden, had chosen to pass to the well-placed Haaland instead of finishing, he would have scored even more goals.

All in all, we’re talking about a player who has often scored more goals than he’s played games since joining RB Salzburg in Austria, and if you add in assists, we’re looking at even higher numbers.

His qualities are well known to everyone at Borussia, where he scored 86 goals in 89 games. English talent Jude Bellingham has also spent some time on the pitch with him and will now face him for the first time as an opponent. So how is he going to guard the Norwegian hitman?

“To be honest, I have no idea. We’ll have to sort it out tomorrow. He’s a player with a lot of quality, physically very strong, which makes him really dangerous. But it’s not a task for individuals, we have to deal with it as a team,” Bellingham was quoted as saying at the pre-match press conference.

His former teammates will have to deal with another fact though, as Pep Guardiola has several other top players in his squad, led by Kevin De Bruyne. With all due respect to Dortmund’s players, Haaland didn’t have that quality of support in Germany, which of course was also immediately reflected in his stats.

” Haaland has made Manchester City even more dangerous and stronger. The Citizens have incredible quality and strength. They consistently score around 90 points in the toughest league in the world.” That says it all…

The two teams faced each other in the Champions League last season, specifically in the quarter-finals, in which Manchester City won twice 2-1. In both duels, Foden in particular was successful, scoring one goal in each game.

The pair of Haaland and Akanji were also present in these duels, but the Norwegian international did not make an impact in either match, only assisting Reus’ goal. Now, apparently, both of them will face off against him.

Sources: UEFA, Transfermarkt