Haaland came off before extra time and penalties (Picture: Getty)
Thierry Henry has questioned whether Manchester City star Erling Haaland is ‘doing the bare minimum’ to control the ball and link up with his teammates.
Haaland has hit 31 goals in 39 appearances this season and is the Premier League’s joint-top goal scorer with 20 alongside Cole Palmer heading into the final weeks of the season.
But his performances have been questioned after struggling to hit the heights of last season’s sublime campaign, failing to make an impact in City’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.
The Norway international struggled in duels up against Antonio Rudiger in the 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu and was substituted late on in Wednesday’s second leg with extra time and penalties looming.
Pep Guardiola later revealed in his post-match press conference both Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne had requested to come off.
Haaland’s ability outside of the box has come under scrutiny with Roy Keane comparing his general play to that of a ‘League Two player’ last month.
In a segment looking at Haaland’s issues on Wednesday night, Arsenal legend Henry suggested the Norwegian does not relish physical battles, urging him to do more for his teammates.
De Bruyne also came off at the end of the 90 minutes (Picture: Getty)
During CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage on Wednesday, Jamie Carragher asked: ‘Why do you think Erling Haaland for the size of him doesn’t like physical contact with the defender?’
Henry responded: ‘I didn’t like it. It’s the same. I’m not small. But it’s not my thing. I wasn’t a Drogba, I wasn’t a Viduka or a Shearer.
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‘I don’t think he’s that type of guy who will go and play like that but you need the bare minimum, being able to control that ball.’
Explaining why Haaland and de Bruyne were replaced by Julian Alvarez and Mateo Kovacic respectively in the 91st minute, Guardiola said: ‘They could not continue.
‘In the game they were amazing. I didn’t plan to make a lot of substitutions but they asked me to go out because they could not continue.’