It would seem ludicrous to demand more from someone scoring at a rate of 1.24 goals per game this season, yet Pep Guardiola wants Erling Haaland to be more of a team player for Manchester City.
Haaland’s team-mates suggested earlier in the campaign it would take time for the ponytailed predator to adapt to playing in a Guardiola team. At the time, it was swept under the carpet as City went two months unbeaten but now, with one shot on target in two games, it becomes very relevant.
Guardiola agreed that Haaland needed to get involved in games more. During the Manchester derby, which United won 2-1, he dropped into midfield out of sheer boredom, exchanging a few passes but not impacting play. His manager’s plan is to involve him in City’s build-up play.
“At the moment, we have a process and when teams are sat in their 18-yard box, it is more difficult,” he said. “We have to find him a bit more. It is not the amount of touches, but it is true that when we look at areas, you have to look at him. But we will do it.”
It raises the question of whether City are a better ‘team’ without the best No 9 in the world. At their best, they have 11 outfield players – including goalkeeper Ederson as a sweeper – but with Haaland, they are a man down in terms of building up their play in Guardiola’s style of the past seven years.
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Haaland’s work rate cannot be faulted. At Old Trafford, he kept making runs behind Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane, but his team-mates could not find him.
All of them, apart from Kevin De Bruyne, were hesitant with their passes.
When the moment was gone, Haaland was offside and his hard work went to waste.
It has echoes of earlier in the season when Guardiola suggested Phil Foden needed to be less selfish and find City’s new No 9. So do City’s other players now that Haaland is in a relative drought of 280 minutes since he found the net against Everton on New Year’s Eve.
“Everyone,” Guardiola said, when asked who needed to start finding Haaland more. “When we have the ball, everyone is allowed to attack.”
Haaland not being involved in play, however, is only a part of City’s problems at the moment. Their most important defenders, Ruben Dias and John Stones, have been injured and Guardiola will be aware that their record-breaking 21-match winning run came when their defence formed an unbreakable foundation.
Foden has not been playing regularly enough to get into good form, while Kalvin Phillips has been injured for half of the season. It will also have been worrying to hear Ilkay Gundogan talking about a lack of desire last week after defeat by Southampton.
Guardiola measures his team by a “base average” of performance. When they are not at their best, that base average is enough to get results. But at St Mary’s, it dipped well below expectations. At least against United he could see a return to form.
“The inconsistency was in terms of results but not performances,” he said.
“In general, not against Southampton, we were consistent in our games. Of course against Everton, we played better; they had one shot on target and we drew. They punished you when before it didn’t happen; we always found a way to get the results. Play good or bad, we always had that chance. This is our strength and we have to improve, but in terms of performance, I think we are consistent.”
United defender Shaw revealed that Erik ten Hag’s squad analysed City and noticed they had not been starting games quickly. “We’ve watched City’s last few games and in the first half they’ve not been at it always, and we’ve known that,” he said. “In the second half, they’ve always come back out and been more their normal selves.”
Haaland found no way past Shaw, who was moved to centre-back from his usual full-back position as Ten Hag felt he had the game intelligence to cope with the prolific Norway striker.
“It’s obviously a new position, and I was quite surprised I was playing there today in such a big game, but I’ll give everything wherever I play,” Shaw said.
Source: independent.ie
