I was most impressed by the efficiency of the goal. He let the ball do the work, by passing it to himself 6-7 yards ahead of the defender, so he could concentrate on beating him for pace.
Many players would have used close control to keep the ball at their feet as they ran, slowing themselves down. Instead, he used the space to his advantage, giving himself a great set-up pass in behind the defender, then sprinted into the space while cutting the defender off. Such positive and skillful instincts.
With Haaland, Semenyo and Marmoush all very capable of exploiting their speed in behind, with grass to run into, I can see the quick counter transition being our first choice against low block teams, and only then using the touchline hugging winger to pull teams around to create spaces to exploit.
Seeing a front three of Doku, Semenyo and Haaland racing towards you would put the fear of God into any back line. Knowing there are midfielders who can thread a ball through the eye of a needle to feed them is a nightmare!
Many players would have used close control to keep the ball at their feet as they ran, slowing themselves down. Instead, he used the space to his advantage, giving himself a great set-up pass in behind the defender, then sprinted into the space while cutting the defender off. Such positive and skillful instincts.
With Haaland, Semenyo and Marmoush all very capable of exploiting their speed in behind, with grass to run into, I can see the quick counter transition being our first choice against low block teams, and only then using the touchline hugging winger to pull teams around to create spaces to exploit.
Seeing a front three of Doku, Semenyo and Haaland racing towards you would put the fear of God into any back line. Knowing there are midfielders who can thread a ball through the eye of a needle to feed them is a nightmare!