![]() When you're dominant it looks fine to play a back three with Jack Grealish roaming, no left back in sight and Kyle Walker freed from defensive duties. RB Leipzig were on the front foot and constantly getting in behind City. On came right back Benjamin Henrichs and he played an aggressive role similar to Walker's. He had five touches in the first half, none in the box.Ĭome the second half, RB Leipzig coach Marco Rose took Pep on at his own game. His job seemed to be to tie up Josko Gvardiol and run around. It meant they dominated midfield even if Erling Haaland still looks a spare part when they play like this, like an expensive super fan, albeit one with 26 Premier League goals, who has won a raffle ticket to play in the team but who no one bothers to pass to.Ĭity are so good like this they can do it whilst ignoring Haaland. Guardiola had gone with a back three, with Kyle Walker virtually right wing and Riyad Mahrez allowed the freedom to drift inside when he wished. But for now, the City striker seems more than happy to continue scoring goals anyway he can.Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol scored the all-important equaliser for Leipzig on the night Whether City will adapt their tactics and what impact that will have on Haaland’s goalscoring remains to be seen. Which is in no small part down to the fact that City’s other forwards, midfielders and full-backs are still trying to adapt to the striker’s runs and style of play. We pointed this out earlier in the year in the video embedded above, which points out just how reliant Man City are on either Kevin de Bruyne or Phil Foden to create assists for Haaland when they’re fit and able to play. And in many ways, the towering striker is scoring goals despite Guardiola’s team still playing as if they have a much smaller striker - such as Jesus or Aguero - leading the line, or no striker at all in the team. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Haaland’s very easy transition to Premier League football is the fact that he’s thriving in a team that still doesn’t play to his strengths. Without or without you - Haaland scoring despite Pep’s tactics If the English top-flight is indeed a higher standard than its German counterpart, it doesn’t seem to be having an impact on Haaland’s game at all. And, rather than suffering from any perceived “Bundesliga tax”, Haaland’s average in the Premier League this season (1.29 goals per 90) is higher than any return he averaged over the course of two and a half seasons in the Bundesliga. What’s perhaps most intriguing about this season’s numbers is that they point to a player that has taken to English football like a duck to water. Which, in other words, means Haaland is essentially scoring more than a goal per game for the English giants. Remarkably, the 22-year-old talent has already surpassed the club’s record for most league goals in a single season and across all competitions he is currently averaging 1.37 goals per 90 minutes. ![]() Saturday’s brace was Haaland’s 32nd league goal of the season, taking the young striker to 47 goals in all competitions for Man City this season. Scoring goals for fun - Haaland improves on Bundesliga record So how well is Haaland doing this season and is he benefitting or being held back by Guardiola's tactics? However, while Haaland continues to score goals with relative ease in the Premier League, there are some who still wonder whether the classic No.9 is as well suited to Man City's possession-based tactics and a team that until very recently was used to playing with smaller players like Sergio Aguero or Gabriel Jesus up front.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |