Erling Haaland not Man City’s only threat to Champions League opponents FC Copenhagen
The Danish champions face a daunting task as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to tackle the Premier League champions
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.FC Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup admits trying to stop Erling Haaland is just the start of his worries as his side prepare to take on Manchester City.
The Danish champions face a daunting task as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to tackle the Premier League winners in the Champions League on Wednesday.
City are strongly fancied to win the European title this season after a number of near misses in recent years, having bolstered their side with the prolific Haaland.
The Norwegian has scored 17 goals in just 11 appearances for the English side since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund.
Neestrup said: “He is obviously one of the best strikers in the world at the moment, if not the best, and we will do what we can to limit his possibilities.
“But there are also 10 other players we will need to be aware of. They are one of the best teams out there.
“People talk about their big names but I am more impressed by them collectively. They are really well-coached and well-organised. I don’t need to tell the players that this is a world-class team.”
Neestrup, 34, was only appointed last month when Jess Thorup, who had guided Copenhagen back to the Champions League for the first time since 2016, was sacked.
Thorup paid the price for a poor start to the campaign in which Copenhagen lost six of their first 10 matches in the Danish Superliga.
Neestrup oversaw victory over Aarhus at the weekend but must now make do without captain Zeca for the rest of the season after the Greek suffered a serious knee injury.
“We are really saddened that Zeca is out and has to stay at home,” said Neestrup. “He really wanted to be here and we wanted him to be with us, but it is what it is.
“We will still put together the most competitive team we can. We are obliged to do that for ourselves, for the tournament and for Danish football.
“We have huge respect for them but we also have huge respect for ourselves.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments