Erling Haaland was far from his best in the Community Shield contest between Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The Norwegian, widely regarded as one of the world's best strikers, was in the starting line-up for the match at the King Power Stadium.

But he had a day to forget.

Haaland struggled to get in the game in the first-half as he touched the ball just eight times.

With City 3-1 down in the final moments, Haaland had a golden opportunity to net a consolation goal for his side.

The 22-year-old had an open goal just a few yards out. But he failed to hit the back of the net as his effort cannoned off the bar and out for a goal-kick.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JULY 30: Erling Haaland of Manchester City in action during The FA Community Shield between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at The King Power Stadium on July 30, 2022 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

It was a bad miss and it summed up his day.

His highlights from the match have been compiled by YouTuber user SVMMcomps. View them below...

Jamie Carragher has leapt to the defence of Haaland on social media following the match.

After Haaland's miss, the Liverpool legend quickly took to Twitter where he envisaged the criticism that City's star striker would receive on social media.

He thinks this criticism is extremely unfair.

He vented: "The Haaland banter compilations will be everywhere this week after that miss, just like Nunez last week. From clowns who have never kicked a ball in their life."

While Michael Owen also defended Haaland and saw plenty of positives from his performance.

He wrote: "Forget Erling Haaland missing chances, that happens. Watch how quickly he anticipates one arising. If he stays fit, he’s going to bag dozens in a sky blue shirt."

Haaland had a day to forget but he will likely be in City's starting lineup for their Premier League opener against West Ham on August 7.

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