Real Madrid devour Haaland in the first leg at the Bernabeu
Erling Haaland didn't manage to make an impact in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
The Sky Blues striker has netted 51 goals this season and 12 of these goals came in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against RB Leipzig.
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However, Carlo Ancelotti managed to deploy a plan that saw Real Madrid defenders effectively contain Haaland, who didn't manage to connect with Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan or Kevin De Bruyne up front.
Haaland appeared in the opening stages, when Thibaut Courtois denied him twice, but failed to stand out in the remainder of the game.
Haaland's stats at the Bernabeu
The Norwegian striker played all 90 minutes at the Bernabeu, but Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Toni Kroos and the defensive structure created a cage from which Haaland could not escape.
He was the player who touched the ball the least number of times, along with goalkeepers Courtois and Ederson.
He shot twice on target for a 0.30 xG and attempted 12 passes, completing nine of them for a 75 percent succession rate. Meanwhile, he lost possession on five occasions.
The Norway international did not commit any fouls and was fouled only twice, both times by Rudiger. He didn't register a single dribble and didn't make any key passes.
Rudiger was solid
Ancelotti put Rudiger on Haaland, as Eder Militao was sidelined due to suspension, and the German international offered a lesson on how to stop Halaand.
Rudiger lost his opponent just once, in the 54th minute, when Alaba came to his teammate's rescue to block Haaland's shot.
Such was Rudiger's display on Tuesday night that he could be a candidate to start again in England despite Militao returning after serving his one-game ban.
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