Haaland Reveals Offside Secret: Trained Since Age 13, VAR His Biggest Ally

Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester Derby was initially ruled offside before being overturned to valid. Professional Refereeing Limited acknowledged a missed call on teammate Enzo's offside interference. Since joining Manchester City in 2022, Haaland has been caught offside only 18 times in the Premier League, with 43 players having more offside offenses and 93 players over the past four years recording higher per-90 offside rates than his. He revealed that he has been focused on staying within the offside line since age 13, hates being offside, and that VAR rulings are clearly in his favor. His offside rate at Manchester City is 0.2 per 90 minutes, far below his 0.55 at Dortmund, and he recorded zero offsides across five World Cup matches this year. In the per-90 offside rankings, Calafiori, Robertson, Estupinan, and Bruno Fernandes rank ahead of him. Jamie Carragher once claimed that his role at Manchester City reduces his runs behind the defense, but SkillCorner data shows Haaland makes 9.5 runs behind the defense per match, trailing only four players. During his youth academy days, he was not tall and relied on positioning and timing to gain advantages.