Sergio Aguero admits Erling Haaland struggled against Virgil van Dijk

VVD got the best of Haaland
VVD got the best of Haaland / Visionhaus/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero has lamented Erling Haaland's Community Shield performance, admitting that Virgil van Dijk got the better of the young forward.

Haaland largely struggled in his first competitive game for City following his £51m move from Borussia Dortmund this summer, and even missed an open net in the dying embers of the game when his team were 3-1 down.

Speaking on his Twitch channel, Aguero stated that Van Dijk - arguably the best defender in the world - bested Haaland on the day: "He was too used to Germany.

"Haaland thought he was alone, then Van Dijk arrived and said 'welcome to the Premier League.'"


Listen now to 90min's Talking Transfers podcast, with Scott Saunders, Graeme BaileyHarry Symeou Toby Cudworth. On the latest show they discuss Chelsea's plans for Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and potentially Denzel Dumfries. There's the latest on James Maddison, interest from big clubs in Jamie Vardy, more on Cristiano Ronaldo and Frenkie de Jong, plus Diogo Jota's new deal and Roberto Firmino's Liverpool future.

If you can't see the podcast embed, click here to download the episode in full!


Speaking after the game to the press, Pep Guardiola gave his analysis of Haaland's performance, stating: "He had chances, two or three in first half and one at the end. He fought a lot, made the movements. It's good for him to see the reality of new country, new league, but he was there.

"He didn't score. Another day he will score. He has incredible quality and he will do it. He has an incredible sense. He is going to help us a lot. He had the chances, he was there. Nothing changed."