Erling Haaland received a three out of ten rating from both Marca and L'Equipe after his underwhelming performance for Manchester City against Real Madrid.
The typically prolific Norwegian, who only had 21 touches of the ball, cut a disgruntled figure in City's 1-1 draw with Los Blancos in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal at the Bernabeu. He also struggled to get involved with play.
Fortunately for Pep Guardiola's team, Kevin de Bruyne stepped up to score a critical goal for City with a second-half thunderbolt to counter Vinicius Jr.'s own thunderbolt, but Haaland's quiet night was not overlooked by European media.
After being outplayed by Madrid center-back Antonio Rudiger, he received a harsh review from both Marca and L'Equipe, earning the two publications' exceptionally low rating.
Marca gave him a pitiful three out of 10 and said the German defender "constantly dried him up."
It said, "Let the [game] speak for him." It terrifies me at first. Rudiger successfully halted his initial move. He put Courtois to the test. He remained unchanged in the second half as a superb Rudiger continually drained his energy.
He received the same rating from L'Equipe, who were hardly any more understanding. They emphasized his defeat against Rudiger, his displeasure with his performance, and how his attempts to get better were "in vain."
They stated: "A left-footed strike that is too neutral (15th), then a soft header (16th). after which? After that, that's it. or almost. Rudiger fought him tooth and nail. The Norwegian was defeated.
He made an effort to dezone so that he could play the game more. a waste. He started to get frustrated. His lone shot in the second half is blocked (55th).
The people of Madrid have successfully severed his technical connection to De Bruyne. In the second leg, he must get revenge.
On the other side, Rudiger received a seven out of ten rating from the French journal for his efforts to stop Haaland, claiming that he 'extinguished' the dangerous forward.
He "set the tone" right away and gave Haaland the impression that his evening would not go well, the statement continued.
In Militao's absence, the German thoroughly eliminated the Norwegian with his physical strength as was expected at the turn. Very secure.
After a tie at the Bernabeu, Marca was much nicer to Haaland's teammates; Bernardo Silva received the lowest rating after him, five out of ten.
They gave Ruben Dias, who received an 8, great praise, noting that he "left Benzema out of the game" and commended him for controlling the City defense. For being the team's "engine," Rodri received a score of seven.
L'Equipe, meanwhile, was far harsher in their own assessments of City. The site gave Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan both a four out of ten, noting that the former "didn't make a difference in one on ones."
Overall, he lost his heated confrontation with Carvajal, they claimed. Except for Haaland's (16th) effective cross, he had no impact in the one-on-one.
He does, after all, contribute to the equalization process, but his offensive contribution is still too neutral. On the other side, he employed very effective defensive measures to curtail Rodrygo's power.
They said, "The German has long lacked accuracy in his choices," in reference to Gundogan's performance. He struggled to use his typical imagination to give [City's] game life. He was a dependable technical relay throughout the final 20 minutes, and it was he who moved De Bruyne on goal (in the 67th).
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