Rose hails 'weapon' Haaland ahead of Klassiker
Erling Haaland's talents in attack make him "an absolute weapon" for Borussia Dortmund, says boss Marco Rose, favourably comparing the forward to Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski.
The two Bundesliga heavyweights meet this weekend in the latest edition of Der Klassiker, with Julian Nagelsmann's side able to claim the title against its biggest rival with victory.
Much of the result will likely hinge on the performances of two of European football's most talismanic strikers, in Poland star Lewandowski and Norway forward Haaland.
The latter looks set to play out his final few games for the Black and Yellow over the coming weeks, and is widely expected to seal a major move during the close-season to a European rival with Manchester City heavily tipped to win the race for his signature.
But his contributions have been invaluable for Dortmund and head coach Rose, who hailed his prowess when speaking about him and Lewandowski ahead of their encounter.
"They have different strengths," he stated. "Lewandowski serves all facets with more experience and drops a lot.
"He's in a good position in the box too though. His first contact is world class.
"[But] Erling has also made progress this season. In the transition game, he is an absolute weapon.
"His header game has also gotten much better. When the ball comes into the box, both know exactly where the goal is."
Dortmund's last Bundesliga Klassiker victory came back in 2018, when they defeated Bayern 3-2 on home soil under Lucien Favre.
Rose knows it is due time that his side rise to the occasion in the Bundesliga's biggest fixture, and that the merit of the occasion drives them on to deliver.
"It's a classic," Rose added. "It's also about reputation. A win in Munich is always good. We don't want to just defend.
"Bayern can become champions on Saturday and will perform accordingly. We want to prevent that.
"We played a good game last Saturday, we need that performance at an even higher level and consistently over 90 minutes."
