‘How To Defend Against Haaland’ —Ex-Man United Star, Stam

Former Manchester United star defender Jaap Stam believes there is a way to stop Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian striker has made a brilliant start to life at City, scoring 12 goals in eight matches since joining from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

But Stam, a 1999 treble winner with United has given tips to the likes of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez on how to contain the 22-year-old.

“You need to be very aggressive,” Stam told Bet365.

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“When the opposition has the ball, you need to go and play in City’s half, you need to make sure someone is always very tight on Haaland and trying to take him out of the game, especially when you lose the ball. He can’t be allowed to get hold of it.

“You need cover, too, otherwise if you try and risk it to play against him one vs one. With a lot of space in your back, nine out of ten times, it’s going to be a very difficult situation. So you need to be very aggressive against him.

“Teams are changing how they set up defensively when he’s playing because of his threat, people are saying we need to put a midfield player in front of him as well, to give them more time on the ball.

“But you need to make choices now as an opposition to defend against him.”

Stam added:“Speaking personally, sometimes when you play higher up the pitch, one needs to be aggressive on him and the other needs to cover you.”