Varane highlights Manchester City’s power but says Haaland doesn’t scare him

Raphael Varane, defender of the Manchester Unitedcommented on the meeting before the City worth the FA Cup this Saturday. For the Frenchman, the main offensive player of the rival team, the top scorer Erling Haaland, does not scare him and, in fact, motivates him.

“Am I scared? No, not at all. Why? I like to face big challenges. When the challenge is big, I feel even more motivated”, revealed Varane in an interview with the English newspaper The Telegraph.

Haaland is the big name of Manchester City’s season, with 52 goals scored in 51 matches played. In addition, he is a protagonist in the Champions League finalist campaign and in the club’s journey to another Premier League title.

🗣️ “We deserve to be in the #FACup final.”#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 2, 2023

Still, Varane sees the collective of Guardiola’s squad as the biggest concern for the duel.

“[Haaland] He’s a very good player, we all know that, but City’s danger is everywhere. They are very complete, they can score goals from set pieces, in ball possession and in transition. As a defence, you need to be aware of the connection between Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne. This type of pass is very difficult to defend, so we have to try to break this connection. We know we can win. We have to be consistent during the 90 minutes, because we know that everything can change in a matter of seconds”, he analyzed.

Earlier in the year, Haaland played in two other games against Manchester United. In the first, in October 2022, City did better and won 6-3, with the Norwegian scoring a hat-trick. In the second meeting, however, Haaland went blank and the Red Devils won 2-1 in January.

Varane valued the work done in the most recent match between the two teams.

“We defend very well as a team. We have to do that again to win the Cup. We will have to be effective”, he highlighted.