Little in the game, but scorer nonetheless. Erling Haaland is satisfied after Manchester City's 2-0 opening win at Chelsea FC - and talks about his opponent Marc Cucurella.
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- "Haaland is shaking, Cucurella is coming", sang Spain's Marc Cucurella at the European Championship celebrations. On Sunday evening, he kicked off the league campaign. His Chelsea faced champions Manchester City.
- Apparently Haaland listened to Cucurella's words, but did not heed them. "Last season he wants my shirt, then he sings a song about me," said Haaland after the 2-0 win.
- Haaland scores the 1:0 and leaves Cucurella standing there. In the final phase, he even leaves him behind when the Spaniard falls to the ground with a cramp.
After the 2-0 opening win with English champions Manchester City, star striker Erling Haaland questioned whether his team needed him at all. The Norwegian scored the opening goal at Chelsea FC in the Premier League on Sunday, but was otherwise barely involved in the game. "I can just stand around and watch," Haaland joked afterwards on Sky Sports when asked if he needed to be more involved.
"When you see all the defenders, how well they play, and the midfielders too, it looks - and Pep Guardiola won't like me saying this - like they don't need me at all," said the Norwegian, before turning serious. "No, of course I need to be more involved, that's what Pep wants. But in games like this, do I need to be more involved? That's the one million dollar question. I want to have more assists and become a better player."
Haaland reacts to Cucurella's European Championship song
At 1-0, Haaland got away from Chelsea defender and European champion Marc Cucurella. The Spaniard sang about the Norwegian super striker at the European Championship celebrations: "Haaland is trembling, Cucurella is coming." However, Haaland did not have to tremble in front of Cucurella on Sunday evening.
On the contrary: the defender would have been grateful for the striker's help in the closing stages. Cucurella fell to the ground with a cramp in the 77th minute. TV footage suggests that Cucurella asked Haaland for help. Haaland, however, only had a grin for Cucurella and ran on.
Cucurella's words were apparently heard by Haaland himself. "Cucurella is a funny man. Last season he asked me for my shirt and this summer he's singing a song about me," said Haaland to former professional and current TV pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft after the opening win against Chelsea.
Man City were the more effective team in a competitive, relatively evenly-matched game at Stamford Bridge. Former Chelsea professional Mateo Kovacic scored the goal to make the final score 2-0. "It's the first game and we're not in perfect form yet," summed up Haaland. "But we put in a really solid performance. We just stayed calm and played. That's great."
Chelsea continue their campaign next Thursday against Servette. The Londoners host Geneva at home for the Conference League qualifier.
