“He’s almost like a League Two player.” These were the words voiced by Roy Keane after witnessing Erling Haaland‘s performance during Sunday’s stalemate clash between Manchester City and Arsenal. More than both teams failing to break the deadlock, it was the Norwegian striker who bore the brunt of the criticism. However, former Liverpool player Dean Saunders has stepped in to back Haaland, pointing out that ‘Roy missed open goals you can’t believe.’

The declaration was made in talkSPORT’s latest podcast episode. Host Natalie Sawyer asked Saunders if it’s even ‘fair‘ to label the City striker with such claims. While mimicking Keane’s League Two assertion, the Welshman said that the Manchester United legend had the right to say it as the ball went under Haaland’s foot. “It’s the type of thing that would happen in a League Two game where the ball’s gone across the face of the goal and it’s gone on under the center forward’s foot. A mistake like that, you don’t expect it to happen to Haaland.” 

However, the former Chesterfield manager quickly came in defense of the former Borussia Dortmund man. “We’ve all been there. I’ve missed open goals, Roy’s missed open goals you can’t believe.” Interestingly, Saunders acknowledged brilliant defending from William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who both denied Haaland finding the net. The former Reds star also likened Michael Owen’s ‘speed of thought’ to that of the Norwegian international. “Saliba and Gabrielle, they’re quick thinkers as well. So that’s why it was a nil-nil draw,” concluded Saunders. 

These words from the Liverpool icon will certainly give respite to the 23-year-old striker from Roy Keane’s blunt declaration. In fact, Haaland even had a response to his critics. 

How did Erling Haaland respond to critics over firing blank? 

Moments after the match, Erling Haaland responded succinctly to the critics following Manchester City’s draw and his own performance, taking to Instagram to share three action shots from the match with a caption that read, “We’ve done it once, we can do it again!” Haaland’s message exudes confidence in his team’s ability to bounce back in future games.

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Notably, Haaland faced tight marking from the formidable Gabriel, limiting his space to operate effectively. Despite dropping deeper to contribute to the team’s build-up play, he missed a crucial opportunity late in the game with a shot that was off-target. Nonetheless, he remains focused on returning to his scoring form and views criticism constructively. 

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