“Fear of Haaland? No way. Why?”

Raphaël Varane will have a tough mission to stop Erling Haaland tomorrow Saturday in the FA Cup final pitting his team, Manchester United, against eternal rivals Manchester City in an exciting derby.

Haaland scored 52 goals in computing all the competition in his first year at City, of which 36 were in the Premier League, a figure that no one had reached in a league championship season before the Norwegian.

Despite these credentials, Varane was not intimidated by Haaland. “Fear? No way… Why?” said the former Real Madrid defender to The Telegraph. “Yes, he is a very good player, we all know that. But City’s danger is everywhere, they are complete,” added the French central defender.

Cut the De Bruyne-Haaland connection

Varane believes Canceling Kevin De Bruyne, City’s game dealer, was key to stopping Haaland. The Belgian star finished this season’s Premier with 16 assists, half of which went to the Norwegian predator.

“They can score on set pieces, in a possession game, and in a transition game. As a defenseman, Haaland has a connection especially with De Bruyne, that type of pass is difficult to defend, so we will try to cut that connection”, Varane analyzed.

Optimistic

The French central defender is optimistic about the outcome of the final: “We know that we can beat them. We have to be consistent during the 90 minutes because we know that everything can change in a few seconds.”

Varane wants the double at United, who won the League Cup against Newcastle (2-0) in February, but stands out for all the winning mentality the team is rebuilding after five seasons without winning titles.

“The important thing is to believe”

“We have to be positive, we are on the right track. But the most important thing is to believe,” said a player who during his ten years at Real Madrid (2011-2021) won four Champions Leagues , three European Super Cups, four Club World Cups, three Leagues, one Copa del Rey and three Spanish Super Cups.