Manchester City striker Erling Haaland insists he is ‘not concerned’ about settling in the Premier League following a tough debut against Liverpool in the Community Shield.
With Darwin Nunez in the Liverpool squad, the game was billed as something of a battle between the league’s new superstar strikers. But Haaland came off second best, missing big chances while Nunez got his name on the scoresheet in a Liverpool win.
City legend Sergio Aguero later admitted that the Norwegian had been given a hard time by Virgil van Dijk and is ‘too used’ to playing in Germany.
Haaland arrived in English football with 134 goals in 137 appearances for club and country since the start of the 2019/20 season. But this is arguably now his toughest challenge yet.
“People can take time, people can come directly into it. We have to see, but I'm not concerned. That's life as a footballer - you have to live with it,” the player told Sky Sports.
Haaland is adamant that he won’t ‘stress’ about his form. He also seems to be well aware that, at 22, he still far from the finished product despite his record in recent years.
“[I can improve] everything,” he said. “If you think I'm good at one thing, I can always get better. This is something I have to do. As a young player, playing for Pep Guardiola, playing for the best club in England, I have to keep developing and get better at a lot of things. That's what I like a lot about football, you can always develop, you can always get better at the game.
Haaland added that he has been getting out of his comfort zone in a bid to get better and believes that the ‘chemistry’ with his new City teammates will come in time.
"The chemistry on the pitch with the other players is something that will come - I don't know if it will take weeks, months, but this is something we have to build on every single day in training.
“I'm a player that's hungry for goals, that gives 100 per cent, that wants to win every single game. They are simple things but also really important things.”
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Source : 90min