One of these players was playing as a false 9 for a team who got dominated all match, whose midfield and defence struggled to beat the press and whose tactics were primarily to play all-out defence anyway (which they managed successfully). Despite that, he was the key player in the goal that ultimately won the match, had over 90% pass accuracy and 59 touches.
The other played upfront for a team camped in the opposition half, managed 7 passes (at 70% success rate) and only 21 touches. He looked no threat at all and City would probably have actively been better without him.
Bellingham did his job for the team last night. Haaland really struggled. I don’t think that their performances were in any way comparable.
I don't know if those numbers are correct, but if they are, that's what one expects of a midfielder doing what he has been asked to do. Bellingham also confirmed after the match that his primary brief was defensive, which again, he performed. You say he couldn't keep the ball, yet aren't factoring in the amount of times he was twisting and turning and taken down via foul means to prevent him from turning back out for a positive release. Those are either, or situations where we don't get to see the conclusions because of the foul whilst the player has executed the first part to facilitate the possibility of the second.It's not an odd retort, it's a valid point. Performance wise, he sucked over the course of 2 games, and especially in this game, being pocketed by Dias. He couldn't keep the ball, he couldn't progress it up field, he couldn't facilitate for others. Saying he ran around a lot isn't much. Haaland did stuff that is conveniently ignored, I'm just applying the same standard to others.
Bellinhgham's remit is broader and a lot more expansive and he was utilised in a very different manner last night. Haaland doesn't have the same claims to his name or his role; one clearly had a better game than the other because he did what was asked of him and, again, if those numbers are accurate, clearly performed his duty in terms of enabling his teammates to either keep the ball or progress the play.