Leeds boss Marsch hoping insider knowledge can help hamper Haaland
LONDON – Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch hopes his insider knowledge on former charge Erling Haaland will help his team, but said his side need to be hyper-vigilant to the Manchester City forward’s movement to have any chance of curtailing him.
The American oversaw Haaland’s development for a season at Red Bull Salzburg following the Norwegian’s move from Molde in 2019.
Asked if that insider knowledge might be a benefit when his side face Haaland’s City in the teams’ first English Premier League match since the end of the World Cup, Marsch said: “Yeah, it will help us I think a little bit.
“It will motivate him on the day a little bit, but it will motivate me as well.
“The time I had with Erling was just outstanding and we had an incredible relationship.
“In general, I have some ideas of things we will try to do, but it will come down to luck on the day in certain moments and finding ways to contain him and hoping that we can still find ways to punish him as well.”
So how do you try to stop a striker who has scored 24 goals in 19 games this season?
Said Marsch: “It will certainly be important for us to manage him on the day. I have been asked many times, how do you do that? And the answer is I think you have to have a keen awareness of where he is at all times and where he likes to be.
“Certainly his ability to run hard into the box, his ability to run hard in transition, his ability to do whatever it takes around the goal to get on the end of plays.
“So he is often not the one that is starting the plays, but he is always thinking about where he can be so he can be finishing it and his instincts in that manner are incredibly unique.”
Having been born in Leeds in 2000 during his father Alfe-Inge’s three-year tenure at the Elland Road club, this will be Haaland’s first game against The Whites.
Marsch said: “Erling texted me as soon as the schedule came out and said that he was most excited for Boxing Day and I gave him permission to have a small hamstring injury for that match!
“But he was born here. His father has history at the club and he has, I think, the club in his heart because of that.
“Something that we talked about before when I got the (Leeds) job, was him and his father were both incredibly supportive and excited for me.
“We will expect him to be fully ready and passionate about this match, which causes issues for us.”
Meanwhile, City winger Riyad Mahrez says his team have to resume their league campaign with a strong start to stay on the heels of surprise leaders Arsenal, who are eight points ahead having played a game more.
Mahrez, who like Haaland is fresh after a break during the World Cup, said: “We have to hit the ground running. We are not currently top of the Premier League and that is where we want to be.
“We will take it game by game but our aim is to try to win another title. There are lots of strong teams in England who could still win the league so we are not just focused on Arsenal, although they have been very good so far.
“If we want to win the league, we will have to be ready as soon as the league starts again.”
Leeds have a host of absentees, including injured utility man Stuart Dallas and winger Luis Sinisterra. Midfielder Tyler Adams is suspended while goalkeeper Illan Meslier, defender Liam Cooper, winger Jack Harrison and attackers Patrick Bamford, Crysencio Summerville and Rodrigo are all injury doubts.
City will be without injured centre-back Ruben Dias and midfielder Kalvin Phillips, after manager Pep Guardiola said the former Leeds youth product had returned from the World Cup overweight. Forward Julian Alvarez is unlikely to feature after helping Argentina win the World Cup.
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