LONDON – Manchester City are closing in on a second consecutive treble, yet Erling Haaland is still facing criticism as Real Madrid visit the Etihad on April 17 aiming to exact revenge for their Champions League exit last season.

The 14-time European champions were humbled 4-0 on their visit to Manchester 11 months ago in the semi-final second leg. City went on to win the Champions League for the first time, along with the Premier League and FA Cup.

Pep Guardiola’s men are 12 games away from repeating that remarkable feat even without their prolific Norwegian striker hitting the form he did last season, when he scored 52 goals in 53 matches.

Haaland’s 31 goals in 38 games this campaign is still impressive, but he has not scored in City’s last three meetings with Real and failed to find the net in 13 of his last 20 matches for club and country.

The 23-year-old has also been criticised for not offering anything other than goals. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled him the “ultimate luxury player” who is yet to be “world class”.

Ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane went even further by claiming his hold-up play resembles that of a player in England’s fourth-tier League Two.

The Spanish press have been just as harsh after Haaland failed to fire for a second consecutive year at the Santiago Bernabeu in a thrilling quarter-final, first leg that ended 3-3 last week.

His performance was described by Madrid sports daily Marca as “impotent”, while AS called him “clumsy and desperate” in his attempts to get the better of Antonio Rudiger.

City manager Guardiola has been protective of his star striker, pointing to both his record and the collective success of his side in Haaland’s two seasons at the club.

The English champions have lifted the Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup already this season with more silverware likely to follow.

They hold a two-point lead at the top of the EPL with six games left and face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on April 20.

“Would we have won five trophies without him? Not a chance,” said Guardiola, when quizzed about Haaland’s critics.

He also believes the forward’s presence did have a telling impact in Madrid, as Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol were allowed space to smash in stunning strikes as the Real defence tracked Haaland.

“(He) helped us score some of them (goals) by creating lots of spaces for the other ones to score the goals,” Guardiola added.

“I saw in his face, in what he said after the game, he was extremely happy (in Madrid).”

City’s result in Madrid is not as spectacular as it would have been in the era of away goals, but they are now favourites to make a fourth consecutive semi-final thanks to a fearsome record on home soil.

The holders have not lost in 30 Champions League games at the Etihad, dating back to 2018, and are unbeaten in 41 matches in all competitions at home since November 2022.

“I think our people at home will help us a lot,” Guardiola said. “It’s sold out and we need a lot of noise, a lot of presence from them. They will be, I’m pretty sure of that.

“It’s Real Madrid and in this competition it is always a big game.

“It’s special for me and what counts is what we have to do tomorrow. We have to adjust something that we didn’t do good at the Bernabeu. We have to perform a little bit better and go for it.”

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, has urged his men to play with the same intensity as they did at home.

“We obviously wanted to take some sort of advantage into the second leg, but I think we need to be satisfied with the first-leg draw,” he said.

“We competed very well, and if we do that again (in Manchester) then we can go through.” AFP