Erling Haaland was "shocking" and "didn't offer anything" in his first appearance since Manchester City acknowledged they were officially found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations. That is the view of former Cardiff and Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley, who offered a scathing verdict on Haaland's display during Norway's 2-1 loss to Wales on Thursday.
The 26-year-old may have viewed Wales as an opportunity to extend his blistering goalscoring run and distance himself from the controversy surrounding City. Haaland had netted seven times in his last five fixtures and was up against a side without a victory in six, and fielded five Championship players in their starting XI.
A night to forget in Cardiff
Haaland had a night to forget at the Cardiff City Stadium. He squandered two golden chances, directing a header directly at Danny Ward before sending another effort sailing over the bar. Beyond that, he engaged in a few physical battles with Tottenham defender Ben Davies and Swansea's Ben Cabango, but was ineffective during a challenging evening for his Norway colleagues.
Oscar Bobb had put Stale Solbakken's side ahead, before Leeds winger Dan James equalised for Wales. Nottingham Forest's Neco Williams completed the comeback in the second half.
Ledley's scathing assessment
Delivering his assessment of Haaland and his display against Wales, Ledley pulled no punches. "I thought he was shocking. He didn't offer anything for Norway and I was watching him all game," he told the BBC.
"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 on Haaland's quiet night
Ex-Nottingham Forest and Wales forward Robert Earnshaw added: "Haaland was quiet. 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."
City's appeal lodged
Haaland's appearance for Norway against Wales occurred just over 48 hours after the Premier League announced that City had been found guilty of all charges concerning breaches of its financial regulations between 2009/10 and 2017/18. They stated that City artificially inflated revenue by more than £900million through 'sham' sponsorship deals. City, however, have denied any wrongdoing and lodged an appeal on Thursday. The club maintains they are "innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League" and claim they possess "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to support their case.
"Manchester City Football Club can confirm that at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026 the club lodged its comprehensive Appeal against the opinion of the Premier League Commission, in relation to the Premier League disciplinary matter," City said in a statement on Friday. "The club's firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe. The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete."
