Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck has insisted he knows how to keep Erling Haaland quiet, ahead of his sides clash with Manchester City.
City host the German side at the Etihad tomorrow in match-day two of Group G, looking for a second successive win following their victory over Sevilla on match-day 1.
Haaland was again the centre of attention in that game, bagging another double in the 4-1 win to add to early haul this season.
He’s already racked up 12 goals and one assist in eight games for Manchester City this season following his move from Dortmund in the summer.
He’ll be determined to add to that tally against his former club, whom he managed 86 goals and 23 assists in 89 games for.
They, of course, will know all about the striker’s strengths after his two years with them but they will also know his weaknesses.
Schlotterbeck never played with him but did feature against him in Freiburg’s 2-1 win over Dortmund last year. That game saw him manage to keep Haaland quiet and he believes he knows how to do so again.
“In that game I realised how good I can be,” Radio Zwickau report him saying to Kicker.
“I know how to stop Erling Haaland. We have to stop them as a whole, Erling is the least of our problems,” he added for Sport 1.
That’s a sentiment shared by BVB sports director Sebastien Kehl, who had his own take on the matter.
“(It’s) not just about Erling,” he stated.
“Manchester City are a very strong team overall, is a favourite in the group, possibly the favourite in the Champions League. But why shouldn’t we surprise there?”
