Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland: "I've been training my right foot"
Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland says he has been working on using his weaker right foot in training in a bid to become an even more clinical player than he already is.
The 20-year-old struck his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season in BVB's 3-0 derby victory at home to Schalke, and his 23rd overall in just 26 competitive outings for the club since arriving from Red Bull Salzburg in January.
Of that tally, Haaland had found the net 17 times with his preferred left foot and once with his head prior to Saturday's fixture. For a player obsessed with constant improvement – be it in terms of diet, training or wearing special glasses at night to aid sleep – the desire to become even more unpredictable for defenders is constant.
Watch: Highlights of Dortmund's 3-0 win over Schalke
His strike put Lucien Favre's side 2-0 up around the hour-mark and put the Revierderby beyond Schalke's reach, delicately dinking the ball over the onrushing Frederik Rönnow in the visiting goal with his right foot.
"When I had the ball I was waiting for Jadon [Sancho] to sprint but he didn’t like to sprint so much," Haaland told bundesliga.com after the final whistle.
"So I played it to him and then I was just running, like I do best. He played it perfectly. I've been training my right foot, so it's good to get a goal with that foot."
Not only that, but the manner of the chipped finish suggests the forward is expanding his repertoire inside the penalty box – as teammate and fellow goalscorer Manuel Akanji explained afterwards.
Watch: Haaland: "I’ve been training my right foot"
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"It's the first time I've seen you do a chip," the Switzerland international said. "Normally it's just full power and he hits it in."
Joking aside, Akanji stressed that while Haaland is always looking for ways to get better, his presence also forces BVB’s defenders to sharpen their own skills.
"In training he's in my pocket, easy," the 25-year-old laughed. "No, no of course, he's a really good striker, especially around the penalty area. You have to stay really close to him otherwise it's going to be a goal. It's good to train against good strikers so you can improve in every training."
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