Rooney: Haaland not taking penalty shows he’s no Messi or Ronaldo

Erling Haaland cannot be considered in the same bracket as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo after giving up a penalty in Man City’s FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace, says Wayne Rooney.

City were beaten 1-0 at Wembley by Crystal Palace after Omar Marmoush had a first-half penalty saved by Dean Henderson, who was fortunate to still be on the pitch after avoiding a red card review by the VAR.

Haaland, City’s usual penalty taker, handed the ball to Marmoush with 10 minutes left of the half and Palace 1-0 up thanks to Eberechi Eze’s early opener, but Henderson guessed correctly to deny him.

Former Manchester United striker Rooney questioned if Haaland, just two games back from injury, passed on the responsibility because he was overwhelmed by the pressure of the moment.

“Erling Haaland is a world-class forward, but when we’re talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s no way they’re giving that ball away,” Rooney said on BBC Sport.

“That’s what separates those two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players.

“They are selfish and they want to score every game.

“When he misses chances, I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him.

“Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him. You never know, he’s a human being.”

City boss Pep Guardiola had expected Haaland to step up and says the decision for Marmoush to take the penalty was made by the players on the pitch.

“I thought he [would] want to take it,” Guardiola said of Haaland after the game. “We didn’t speak. There are questions in the meetings, and there are things that are ready for them.

“That moment for the free-kicks, the penalty, is especially [about] how you feel. They saw that Omar was ready to take it.”

Henderson revealed after the game that he was more confident about facing a penalty from Marmoush than Haaland.

“Haaland might have stepped up, I wasn’t sure which way he’d go,” the Palace goalkeeper told BBC Sport. “He gave it to Marmoush – I knew which way he was going. I knew I’d save it.”

Henderson has previous for saving spot-kicks at Wembley, having already done so for Shrewsbury in the League One Play-off final in 2018, when on loan from Manchester United.

“I saved a penalty down there a few years ago for Shrewsbury,” he told ITV Sport. “I fancied my chances in that corner. He smashed it hard and I went the right way.”

Should Henderson have been sent off?

Henderson had escaped a sending off not long before his penalty heroics after appearing to handle the ball outside the area when Haaland seemed primed to knock the ball past him.

VAR reviewed the incident after referee Stuart Attwell missed the handball and felt Henderson had handled the ball beyond the bounds of his box, but decided it was not denying a goalscoring opportunity because the ball was travelling away from goal.

Former City defender Joleon Lescott said it was “one of the worst decisions” he had seen in football, while Ian Wright described the officiating as “pathetic”.

Henderson shrugged off questions about his potential red card after the game.

“I didn’t know [the VAR review] was for me,” he told ITV Sport. “Who cares, it doesn’t matter. I am not bothered.”