Experience and certainty of centre-back Francesco Acerbi helped Inter’s defense restrain Erling Haaland in the Champions League final.
Before the ball rolled on Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey on the evening of June 10, the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport considered Haaland – Acerbi to be an unequal battle. The 35-year-old Italian midfielder has been battling cancer . Last summer, he was no longer used by Lazio, had to go to Inter on loan. At first, Acerbi was just a backup plan, but gradually took up the main kick after Milan Skriniar refused to renew and reached an agreement to join PSG on a free form in the summer of 2023.
13 years younger than Acerbi, Haaland is booming with 52 goals in 52 games in all competitions this season. In the Premier League alone, the Norwegian striker scored 36 goals and broke the record for most goals in a season held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole (with 34 goals). He also leads the list of Champions League top scorers with 12 goals and has won the European Golden Shoe, the title belonging to the player with the most goals in national championships.
In the match, Acerbi did not compete for the ball fiercely with Haaland, but played cautiously, promoting safety. The experience of Acerbi and the good cover of Alessandro Bastoni made the Norwegian striker lose the connection with the surrounding satellites.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport , after hitting the bar in the offside position in the 3rd minute, Haaland “dipped deep into the darkest time”. His most dangerous opportunity came in the 27th minute, when he picked up Kevin De Bruyne’s slot and then dropped to shoot at goalkeeper Andre Onana’s position. In this situation, Acerbi had to rush to stop De Bruyne, while Bastoni followed closely, causing Haaland to lose momentum and not have the most comfortable finishing position. This is the only ball that Acerbi “leaved” the Man City striker.
In the 40th minute, Acerbi headed to clear the ball from the throw-in towards Haaland, then shouted “I’m not afraid”.
In the second half, when De Bruyne was no longer on the field due to injury and himself continued to be closely followed by Acerbi, Haaland was more faint and did not have any finishing phase. Similar to the first half, the Man City striker only once surpassed Acerbi in the 67th minute, but the Norwegian striker was immediately filtered and blocked by Bastoni.
In the 81st minute, Acerbi had an accurate stooping phase that made Haaland unable to finish. According to Gazzetta dello Sport , this effort of the Italian midfielder seems to send a message: “You are winning, but I do not give up and will continue to defend as if there is no tomorrow”.
In the lackluster Haaland day, Man City decided the final thanks to Rodri’s shining moment. The Spaniard shot up and shot close to the right post from Bernardo Silva’s cross in the 68th minute. Thanks to this goal, Man City won the Champions League for the first time to recreate the feat of winning the treble of City club Man Utd 1998-1999 season.
Gazzetta dello Sport commented: “Man City won the Champions League, but Acerbi overshadowed Haaland – the goalscorer with terrible statistics, dubbed the ‘Unstoppable Thunder God from Northern Europe’. silence Haaland as an individual title of Acerbi in the final”.
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