Rio Ferdinand has warned Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to “stay away from desperation” during the rest of their Champions League campaign.
The Norway international has scored 51 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions this season and recently broke the record most goals scored in a Premier League campaign.
But Real Madrid and Antonio Rudiger kept Haaland quiet on Tuesday night as Man City drew 1-1 at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Haaland had a couple of early efforts for Man City but only touched the ball on 21 occasions, the fewest by any player that started the match against Real Madrid.
And Ferdinand has urged Haaland and Man City not to get “desperate” in their search for Champions League glory.
Ferdinand told BT Sport: “In a situation like this, you’ve just got to stay away from desperation. I’ve played in the Champions League final and we hadn’t won it in my time there, and I felt desperate at times.
“But, I was playing against a team that were probably in the same position – or I know they were – in Chelsea, who hadn’t won it. There is a level of desperation on both sides. I wondered whether if we’d played against a team like Real Madrid in that final, if we’d have been calm and cool, know the role in terms of how to win a competition, how that might have impacted me as well.
“I think they’ve just got to stay away from that desperation if they get to that point, and just be composed. He hasn’t shown desperation at any stage so far, which is great, but I think that is one area that the Real Madrid players may be looking at when they’re looking at this City team.”
On Haaland, fellow BT Sport pundit Michael Owen added: “Especially with him, because if he reads the papers, listens to people and what they say, everybody says ‘he’s been brought in to win the Champions League.’ It’s almost on his shoulders in many ways, if he believes what he hears and reads.
“I think he’s got a solid mentality, he’s got that little bit of confidence and arrogance, but I don’t think it will faze him. He’s got utmost belief in himself. I don’t think all this talk of ‘it’s all down to him to be that missing piece of the jigsaw,’ will affect him.”
