Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has seen a significant improvement in a specific part of his game
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 9: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates with team mates after the scored for 1-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on November 9, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 9: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates with team mates after the scored for 1-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on November 9, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
View Image
As good as Erling Haaland is, plenty of Manchester City fans were not confident when he stepped up to the spot against Liverpool. Part of that is the masses of evidence that every single City player is going to miss their penalty, but there is also history of Haaland not being confident; he even gave up the chance to take one in the FA Cup final.
That, he said afterwards, was a mistake and he took responsibility a week later at Fulham but he has not had the chance to get back on the horse since with City entering the Liverpool game as the only team not to be awarded a penalty. When they were, he fluffed his lines.
It didn't matter though, because shortly afterwards he leapt like a Norwegian salmon and steered a header in for the opening goal. There was luck involved, but Haaland was rewarded for doing everything right that was in his control.
Heading has rarely been a Haaland strength, with even Pep Guardiola feeling himself qualified to try and teach the No.9 a thing or two after he had missed a presentable chance at Old Trafford a few seasons ago. For someone as tall as he is and as clinical with his feet, heading has always been one of the weakest parts of that game.
That may be changing though. His headed goal against Liverpool followed successful efforts against Napoli, Monaco, and Everton to mean that Haaland has already scored as many headers this season as he did last year or the year before; his 2022/23 high of eight is well within sight.
It isn't just in front of goal where Haaland is making a difference with his head. He has always been towards the top end of the City squad for involvement in aerial duels, yet now he is out on his own.
More significantly, he is winning more of them: in 2022/23, he won 50 per cent of his 100 duels; in 2023/24, he won 48 per cent of his 81; in 2024/25, it was 53 per cent from 107.
This season, there has been a 20 per cent leap in successful aerial duels with Haaland winning 26 of his 36 (72 per cent). As well as being unrivalled at City for the number he contests and wins, Haaland ranks in the top 30 in the Premier League this season for most duels win and, in that bracket, only Virgil Van Dijk, James Tarkowski and Malick Thiaw - all centre-backs - have a better success rate.
Those numbers back up what the eyes have noticed this season. As well as Haaland scoring more headers this year, it has been increasingly common to see the No.9 leaping highest in his own box to clear a set-piece as he relishes taking more responsibility at both ends.
"It is not the nicest thing but when I am playing of course I prefer to be in the other box," he said last week. "I have been practicing my headers ever since I started in Molde in 2017 with Ole Gunnar [Solskjaer] and Mark Dempsey.
"I think you can always get better in things. With headers, you can always get better. You can never be good enough. It is something I try to practise still
"You can see I'm getting better and better and there is still a long way to go."
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
*And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.*