To coach Pep Guardiola, Man City must take collective responsibility if striker Erling Haaland continues to be isolated like the draw with Leipzig in the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round.
“Confronting RB Leipzig is always difficult. That match, Man City should give Haaland more ball,” Guardiola said on February 24 at a press conference before the match against Bournemouth in the 25th round of the Premier League. “It doesn’t matter if Haaland gets upset or angry. Surely everyone gets frustrated at times in life. Happiness is overrated.”
At the Red Bull Arena on February 22, Haaland played the full 90 minutes but only touched the ball 22 times, had one shot off goal and lost the ball eight times. In the match against Nottingham Forest a few days earlier in the English Premier League, the Norwegian striker even squandered two chances to finish from less than 10 meters, making Man City held 1-1.
This performance kept the 22-year-old striker under pressure. In the last six matches of Man City , Haaland scored only one goal, down sharply from 31 goals in the previous 26 matches. In the Premier League alone, Haaland only touches the ball an average of 20 times per game, despite leading the list of top scorers with 26 goals.
Haaland is being considered unsuitable for Man City’s ball control style. According to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, Tottenham’s Harry Kane is the right piece for Man City. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher thinks Haaland may have ” chosen the wrong club “.
“It’s our fault, not Haaland,” added Guardiola . “After every game, I know if Haaland is heavily involved in the gameplay, or who needs to contribute more. I know exactly without numbers. Of course, it depends on us, not Haaland. . He still moves well. We need to get the ball to Haaland more.”
The Spanish coach also added that Haaland touched many balls and had many chances against Nottingham, and suggested that the media should not use a match against Leipzig to refer to his striker. “He had a chance in both halves against Nottingham,” Guardiola insisted. “Of course we have to improve and we will. Striker is the most difficult position in the world, because you have at least two players hanging around. With Haaland it’s more than that. Things are not easy.” .
Guardiola revealed Kevin de Bruyne could return, but Aymeric Laporte and John Stones continue to be absent for today’s match against Bournemouth . The 52-year-old coach also believes that the race to win the Premier League is very open with many clubs and is confident that Phil Foden will soon find his best form.
