Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl believes the addition of Erling Halaand to the Manchester City team has turned them into an unstoppable force.
Hasenhuttl’s Southampton fell to a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City yesterday, with Haaland completing the scoring in the second half for his 15th goal in his ninth Premier League appearance.
The Austrian declared Pep Guardiola’s side “maybe the most complete team in the world” after adding the prolific Haaland to their ranks from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Haaland’s goal was his 20th of the season in all competitions, and Hasenhuttl admitted City’s extra dimension has made them an even tougher proposition after Southampton drew both league meetings last season.
“We have played against maybe the most complete team, not only in the Premier League, maybe in the world,” he said.
“We tried to be brave, we tried to press them in the right moments, and it was a little bit harder today.
“They changed the shape a little bit and it was a little bit tougher for us to win balls, but we had some good ones.
“We tried, in our way and in our DNA, to be successful here, but we will not be the last team who loses games here.
“We have in the past shown that we have done it well against Man City, but they have also learned from those games.”
Hasenhuttl admitted that coaches and players have had to make different plans to deal with the dangerous Haaland and the City attack.
“I think this season they are even better, with a player up front you have to concentrate a little bit more, and then others have a little bit more space,” he noted.
“It’s clear when you give them a few spaces, a few moments, then they have the quality to finish it off like no other team in the league, that is for sure.
“In the end, I cannot say we didn’t put any effort in, we have tried everything that we can, and this is what you have to do.”
Haaland leads the scoring charts in the Premier League with his incredible 15 goals, overshadowing Harry Kane who has scored an impressive eight goals in nine matches.
