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Erling Haaland has grabbed the attention of the entire football world yet again after his stunning performance against Manchester United last night. The Norwegian bagged a hat-trick, which has become a premier league record as this is his third hat-trick in three consecutive Premier League home games. He has also assisted twice in the game.
This masterclass of performance, along with his inhuman 17 goals and 3 assists in just 10 games for Manchester United, has yet again reignited the debate - who is better, Haaland or Mbappe?
They were supposed to be the successors of Messi and Ronaldo, not only on the field but also in every other conceivable way. But right now, Haaland seems to have the upper hand compared to Mbappe, who is undergoing a lot of criticism due to his attitude towards the game.
Mbappe has 11 goals in 10 games for PSG this season. Still, the Frenchman, two years older than Haaland, has undergone a bit of a decline this season, which is evident from his poor vision, decision-making, and selfishness, which is making headlines.
But Haaland, on the other hand, has improved in many arenas. When he first came to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, it was expected that he would struggle a bit because he came to a vastly superior league, as well as the fact that he was used to playing in a more direct and counter-attacking style of football in Dortmund, which is largely in contrast with Pep's philosophy.
But Haaland proved everyone wrong with his performance and adaptability, and at this rate, he can put Messi's record of scoring the highest number of league goals in a season at stake.
On the other hand, despite gaining his star status as early as 2018, Mbappe has failed to do something as remarkable as what was expected of him. Despite having good stats consistently for 3 seasons, he seems to be slowly losing some of the abilities that ushered him into stardom early in his career. A lot of blame can be put on his entitlement to have superstar status quite early in his career.
As of now, Haaland clearly seems to be the better footballer of the two, not only when it comes to footballing abilities but also in terms of dedication, hard work, and attitude towards the game.
As long as football is uncertain, it will be interesting to see whether the current status quo persists in the future.