A man possessed: National media praise 113-touch Arsenal star after high level performance
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard played the full 90 minutes during Norway’s 2-1 Nations League defeat to Portugal on Sunday night.
Norway picked up an impressive 3-2 win over Denmark in their Nations League opener but could not secure another victory at home yesterday.
Joao Felix opened the scoring early for the Portuguese. Erling Haaland put things level in the 51st minute before Goncalo Ramos made it 2-1 for the visitors.
A huge blunder from Orjan Nyland gifted Ramos the winner. Norway ought to be disappointed, given they had the momentum before Nyland’s mistake.
Following the game, the Norwegian media handed out their player ratings, and Dagbladet said that Odegaard ran like ‘a man possessed’ and gave him 7/10.
They wrote: “Worked tirelessly, ran like a man possessed, and did a lot of good things. The free-kick in the second half set the stage for the 1–1 equalizer.”
Meanwhile, NRK said that Odegaard played at a ‘high level’ again and acknowledged that he could have had an assist if Haaland had converted his first-half chance (7/10 rating).
NRK mentioned: “Delivers at a high level again. Could have scored an assist already midway through the first half if Haaland had hit better. Another good game from the captain.”
Odegaard had another fine outing for his national side. He completed 81 passes from 113 touches, while creating four chances. Haaland squandered the biggest of those.
The Gunners skipper also won five duels with six recoveries. He played a part in the equaliser as the rebound from his free-kick contributed to Haaland finding the net.
In the closing minutes, Odegaard suffered a heavy knock to his ankle after a reckless challenge from Bernardo Silva, and it remains to be seen whether he is fit in the near future.
The 27-year-old has acknowledged there could be swelling from the impact, and Arsenal fans will hope there is nothing serious, given his splendid start to the new campaign.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
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