Erling Haaland produced an astonishing miss in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday. The star striker, who went on to score the hosts’ third goal of the night later on, admits such moments could happen to him again in the future.
Haaland Won’t Cry Over Missed Chances Anymore
An Unbelievable Miss in Manchester Derby
Manchester City were desperate to get back into the game after falling 1-0 behind against their city rivals at Etihad. After regaining control over the game, the Citizens found a perfect chance to score the equalizer in the 45th minute.
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Phil Foden headed the ball to an unmarked Haaland, who was barely two yards away from the goal but missed the target with an overpowered shot. According to The Athletic, the missed chance had a staggering XG of 0.89. For comparison, the XG for penalties is fixed at 0.76.
Gary Lineker said of the missed opportunity on Twitter: “That might be the worst miss I’ve ever seen at this level. He has to head it. Incredible.”
HAALAND MISSED FROM POINT BLANK RANGE 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/qlrCYPFC0H
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 3, 2024
Haaland Reacts to His Shocking Miss in Manchester Derby
The Citizens star did make amends for the miss by scoring his side’s third goal in the 91st minute. But he was, nonetheless, quizzed about the incident when speaking in a press conference ahead of his side’s upcoming Champions League match against Copenhagen.
Haaland said (via Simon Stone): “I’ve missed a lot of chances, I’ll keep missing chances, and I’ll keep scoring goals. I’ll probably miss a big chance in future, people will criticise me. Should I keep thinking about it? No.
“People say I’m good at scoring goals but I missed the biggest chance in the world ever so I can get better at that.”
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Haaland’s composure and elite mentality have been major components of his quick rise to prominence ever since his days at Borussia Dortmund. But things were different for the Norway international when he first started out as a footballer.
He added: “It was a challenge when I was young. I started crying if we lost and I missed a lot of chances. It is something you work on. In the end, everything is in here [in the head].”
Most Big Chances Missed in Premier League This Season
Haaland is leading the Premier League goalscoring charts with 18 goals, hoping to defend his Golden Boot title amid close competition from Ollie Watkins and Mohamed Salah. However, the Manchester City superstar has also missed more big chances than any other player in the league.
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So far, the 23-year-old has failed to convert 26 big chances, five more than Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez. It won’t be surprising to see the Norway international finish the campaign at the top, as he did so last season with 28 misses.
The numbers suggest Haaland can score even more than he already does. But they are also indicative of his excellent ability to find spaces inside the box and the sheer volume of chances that his Man City teammates provide for him.
