Erling Haaland (25, Manchester City) has been called a 'coward' rather than a 'monster' due to his penalty kick avoidance.

The British 'BBC' reported on the 18th (Korea time) that "Haaland will be hurting when he sees Wembley Stadium. He had the chance to end the scoring curse, but passed the ball to Omar Marmoush. And Marmoush's penalty kick was saved by Dean Henderson."

On the same day, Manchester City lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final for the 2024-2025 season held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Despite taking 23 shots, they lowered their heads without opening Palace's net.

As a result, Manchester City finished as FA Cup runners-up for two consecutive seasons. This is the first time Manchester City finished the season without a trophy since the 2016-2017 season. This is also the second time in Pep Guardiola's career that he has not lifted any trophies.

On the other hand, Palace made history by winning their first major tournament trophy since its establishment in 1905. Until now, they only had titles from the English Championship (second division) and League One (third division). When it comes to the FA Cup, this is their first victory in its 164-year history since its establishment in 1871. This victory allows Palace to participate in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) stage for the first time next season.

For Manchester City, this is a very disappointing runner-up finish. They maintained a high possession throughout the match and knocked on Palace's goal, but all of their efforts were thwarted by Henderson's splendid saves. In fact, they conceded the first goal to Eberechi Eze in the 16th minute of the first half on a counterattack and were unable to recover.

Ultimately, Manchester City has confirmed a season without trophies. The only thing they achieved was a victory in the Community Shield at the beginning of the season. They are struggling for a tough fourth place in the Premier League and were eliminated in the fourth round of the League Cup. In the UEFA Champions League (UCL), they were also knocked out by Real Madrid in the Round of 16 playoffs.

In particular, Haaland could not avoid responsibility for the defeat. He played the full 90 minutes and took 3 shots, but only one was on target. Most importantly, passing the penalty kick to Marmoush was a critical mistake. Although Haaland is the dedicated penalty kick taker for Manchester City, he did not take it himself. After touching the ball, he handed it over to teammate Marmoush. However, Marmoush's shot was accurately read and saved by goalkeeper Henderson.

As a result, Haaland once again left Wembley Stadium with his head down. Despite scoring 30 goals this season and showcasing his terrifying scoring ability, he has remained silent at Wembley for six consecutive games. Moreover, he did not score in the final, marking his eighth consecutive match without a goal, which drew criticism. In some ways, this was seen as a lack of responsibility and an inability to overcome pressure.

Pep Guardiola said, "Honestly, I thought Haaland would definitely want to take the penalty kick in that situation. I haven't spoken to the player about it yet," adding, "Penalties are influenced by how players feel in that situation. Among the players, Marmoush probably judged that he would be more accurate in that moment."

However, the external perspective was even colder. Legendary striker and commentator Wayne Rooney remarked, "Good strikers can never become Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. If it were either of them, they would never have passed the penalty kick in that situation," adding, "Haaland's mentality directly affects his performance. He probably felt pressured about taking the penalty at Wembley."

Alan Shearer also agreed with Rooney's statement. He said, "Honestly, I’m also a former striker, and if someone came to me and told me not to take the penalty, I would have been angry. The excuses of having missed one during the season or just coming back from injury are all just excuses. I couldn't believe that Haaland passed the ball to another player and was saying, 'You take it.'"

In a word, Haaland's attitude of not taking the penalty himself in that moment as a striker and passing it was wrong. In fact, whether looking at the penalty kick order or his standing in the team, it was undeniably a situation where Haaland should have solved it himself, so passing it simply appeared as an avoidance of the situation.

This was also evident from the words of rival team goalkeeper Henderson. He stated, "I thought Haaland would take the penalty kick. I wasn't sure which way I should dive against him. But he passed the ball to Marmoush. I knew where Marmoush was going to shoot. I knew I could save it."

In many ways, Haaland has fallen from 'monster' to 'coward.' It remains to be seen whether he can show a different side in future finals.

[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), CBS Sports Golazo, OneFootball, BBC, Premier League Towns social media.

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