Erling Haaland was branded "shocking" by BBC pundit Joe Ledley after Wales kept the Norway superstar quiet in their impressive 2-1 Nations League victory at Cardiff City Stadium.
Craig Bellamy's side came from behind to beat Norway on Thursday night and claim their first Nations League A victory, with Daniel James cancelling out Oscar Bobb's early opener before Neco Williams struck the winner shortly after the visitors were reduced to 10 men.
Haaland kept quiet by Wales defence
Much of the pre-match focus had been on Norway's fearsome attacking threat, with Haaland leading the line after helping his country reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
But Wales' defence largely kept the Manchester City striker out of the game, with centre-backs Ben Cabango and captain Ben Davies earning particular praise for their handling of him. Haaland had just 11 touches during the first half and was unable to register a goal as Norway suffered a second successive defeat.
Ledley's brutal verdict
The performance came just days after the Premier League confirmed that an independent commission had found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
The commission found City had arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners, misstated accounts and breached spending limits, with the club having the right to appeal the findings. Sanctions are being dealt with separately.
Haaland's display, though, was assessed purely on what happened on the pitch by former Wales international Ledley, who was working for the BBC. And he did not hold back.
"I thought he was shocking," Ledley said. "He didn't offer anything for Norway and I was watching him all game. His movement wasn't there, he wasn't coming short [to receive the ball], his touches... he had 11 in the first half."
"The majority of the time he gets on these crosses, but Ben Cabango was outstanding. Ben Davies as well, managed him very well. It was pretty easy for them to do that."
"He can leap, is physically strong, he's quick as well. Wales were so high, I was expecting him to run in behind, but he wasn't interested at all."
Earnshaw backs up assessment
Ledley's assessment was backed up by fellow BBC pundit Rob Earnshaw, who pointed to the way Wales prevented Norway from supplying Haaland in the positions where he is usually at his most dangerous.
"Haaland was quiet," Earnshaw said. "He was quiet because the moments he could have scored - and in the Premier League we see it - at the far post, a headed goal, some brilliant finish. But we were right there [to stop him]."
"When you're defending against him it's about the first contact. I thought it was great defending and that was the key. The other side of it is that he relies on people to create and we were able to stop the ball coming in early."
The result marked a significant night for Bellamy, with Wales recovering from their disappointing defeat to Denmark to record their first ever Nations League A victory.
