CHAPEL HILL, NC — New Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel knows what it takes to make the ultimate striker. The former Leicester City shot-stopper has seen plenty of world-class forwards in his glittering career.
So his words carry significant weight when he gushed over Man City striker Erling Haaland in North Carolina on Tuesday night.
“He’s a beast,” Schmeichel said of Haaland when asked by The Sporting News what it is that makes the Man City star so formidable. “He’s an absolute beast. He is one of the best strikers in the world without question. He has everything you want — he has pace, he has power, he has good movement, he has intelligence, he has incredible leap as you saw on his goal, so…he’s the complete package.”
Schmeichel could say that all with a smile, because he made two incredible saves on Haaland efforts through the first half of the pre-season friendly, helping Celtic to a 4-3 win at Kenan Stadium. The 37-year-old Dane was playing in his first match for the Scottish club, having just signed this summer as a free agent after his release from Belgian club Anderlecht.
Haaland would make his mark on the match in the second half, towering over a defender to head home his first goal of the new season against substitute goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo.
City fans hope that it’s an indication of Haaland’s intent to crack on and get going early. The 24-year-old won the Premier League Golden Boot award for the second straight season last year, but did so in significantly less emphatic fashion than the previous campaign when he set the league’s single-season goal scoring record.
The Norwegian ate Celtic center-backs for lunch throughout his 68 minutes of action in Chapel Hill, making scything runs between the partnership while also showing his aerial prowess. He played a significant role in City’s first goal as well, producing a brilliant dummy to latch onto the ball all alone for a 33rd-minute equalizer.