Erling Haaland, the Norwegian football star and Manchester City striker, aims to break his goal-scoring record against Real Madrid in the upcoming Champions League match.
Haaland will have a perfect chance to score his first-ever European goals for City against the Spanish giants and end his struggle of not scoring against them, especially with the injury crisis that is affecting Real Madrid’s defence.
The Royal Club will travel to Manchester to face City on Tuesday evening in the Round of 16 of the 2024-25 Champions League.
Haaland has yet to score against Real Madrid in four previous matches, which frustrates him. This is especially true as Real Madrid was one of the clubs that made a strong attempt to sign him before he decided to join City. This match presents a great opportunity for Haaland to break his goal drought and prove a point to those who failed to sign him.
Real Madrid face major absences, with many of their key defenders missing. The defending champions will arrive in Manchester without Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Militao, Lucas Vazquez, and Dani Carvajal, all of whom are sidelined due to injury.
The absence of these key defenders will certainly impact Real Madrid‘s defence against one of Europe’s top attacking forces, with Haaland leading the charge. The Norwegian striker, who has been a deadly presence in the penalty area lately, is eager to end his record of not scoring against Real Madrid after failing to do so in four official matches with City.
Haaland’s complex against Real Madrid
In the 2022-23 Champions League semi-finals, Haaland failed to score in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, which ended 1-1. Even in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium, although City won 4-0, Erling had several chances that Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved brilliantly.
The Norwegian striker also couldn’t find the net in last season’s quarter-finals, with Rudiger doing an excellent job marking him. Haaland was unable to score in both the first leg, which ended 3-3, and the second leg, which ended 1-1. Erling is now hoping to break this goal-scoring curse, especially with Rudiger absent from this match, as the German defender was a solid obstacle for Haaland in the two matches last season. Since joining City in 2022, Haaland has scored 115 goals in 131 matches, and now he hopes to finally add Real Madrid to his list of victims.
