Once again Manchester City could not get a victory when their main striker Erling Haaland could not shoot, but this time against RB Leipzig in the 1/8 Champions League round of 2022 – 2023. And it seems that coach Pep Guardiola is “stuck” in the idea of using this striker.
The match against RB Leipzig in the last 1/8th round of the Champions League 2022 – 2023, can be said to be a match where Manchester City deserves to be a more appreciated team if just looking at the match stats. This is a match where Pep Guardiola’s teachers and students accounted for 62% of the time to control the ball, launching 12 shots with an expected number of goals of 1.37, 702 passes, 117 attacks, 46 attacks. dangerous work; Compared to 6 shots, the expected number of goals is 0.84, 436 passes, 94 attacks, 30 dangerous attacks by RB Leipzig players.
But even with a superior game, coach Pep Guardiola’s teachers and students could only get 1 point, after being equalized by RB Leipzig in the 70th minute of the match. And if you look at the whole match, there are 2 remarkable points that people can easily see, that is Erling Haaland did not score a goal despite Manchester City having the dominant position, and coach Pep Guardiola does not change any position during the whole match.
It is a fact that since Erling Haaland arrived at Manchester City, the style of the club has changed in a way that depends on the player’s ability to score goals. Although he has scored up to 26 goals after 24 rounds, is leading the list of Premier League top scorers this season, up to 9 goals more than the 2nd ranked person, but to say Erling Haaland’s presence has an impact. Positive for the blue half of Manchester is another matter. As Thierry Henry once said on CBS Sports, this former player thinks that Manchester City seems to have become more vulnerable to Erling Haaland.
If we look back at the matches where Manchester City have lost points this season, it is not difficult to see one thing in common, that once Erling Haaland is blocked or is not in good form to score goals, the club This set has a lot of difficulties in scoring goals in the opponent’s net. For example, the recent matches against Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Brentford, Manchester United, Nottingham or RB Leipzig, although they all have a dominant position in front of the opponent, once Erling Haaland cannot score, it is almost impossible for Manchester City to score. can win.
It is not that Pep Guardiola does not recognize this problem, but to correct it is not an easy problem. As Thierry Henry says, you can see Pep Guardiola is trying to find the right system for Erling Haaland, but in the big games, against strong opponents, opponents where Manchester City can’t get the upper hand in terms of competition. possession of the ball, it would be nearly impossible for Erling Haaland to touch the ball, nor would his teammates find a connection with the player. And it’s clearly happening.
The fact that coach Pep Guardiola did not have any replacement despite being equalized in the 70th minute, which means there is still at least 20 minutes left to find a win, also partly shows the awkwardness in changing. style play. Although there are still good players like Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips … on the bench, but without Kevin De Bruyne on the field, it is difficult to change the game around Erling Haaland that the team is obeying because obviously Julian Alvarez has a completely different playstyle.
It is clear that Pep Guardiola is having a hard time with Erling Haaland, when he has to find a suitable tactical scheme for this striker, it is difficult for this striker to be substituted or substituted in the match. But if this situation continues, the possibility is not small that Manchester City will have to go empty-handed this season.
