Today we have to score the winning goal against Leicester.
Two crises entering into a diabolical resonance
Guardiola has repeatedly stressed that Haaland should not be blamed after Manchester City’s defeats. But the two crises overlapped. City has only one victory in its last thirteen matches in all competitions. Forward Haaland scores three goals in three months nuclear submarine. It is clear that there were goals in the Champions League, Erling’s favorite tournament. He distinguished himself in the Norwegian national team. Just before October, Haaland scored 10 goals in nuclear submarine.
The significant drop in performance damaged the attacker’s confidence. Holland appears to have chains on his feet. And this slow advance is a New Year’s gift for defenders. Especially considering Manchester City’s attempt to surround someone else’s penalty area. When Guardiol’s full-back, let alone midfielders, is in a high position, Haaland finds himself sandwiched in a crowd of opponents. And standards are not the weapon of “citizens”.
Arsenal scored 9 goals from various free kicks and corners in nuclear submarineand Manchester City have five goals from set pieces, even though the team has enough tall guys. Without Rodri and De Bruyne, the logistics of getting the ball to Haaland fall apart. Against Everton, who was successful defensively – after the return of defender Branthwaite, goalkeeper Pickford collected a lot of “crackers”, Erling had only 10 accurate passes and only 2 shots in the match.
Haaland is responsible for the draw as he missed Pickford’s penalty. The English goalkeeper managed a contortion. It is unlikely that Erling was very bothered by his facial expressions; rather, it was the goalkeeper’s qualifications that stood in the way. He dominated the striker and deprived Manchester City of a victory so important for the morale of Guardiola’s team. The crisis of “citizens” is one of the major themes of the season. But there are also problems with Haaland. In recent months, the attacker seems to be in someone else’s shoes.
Carelessness is Erling’s main rival
Haaland rallied against Everton. Out of 10 passes, he left two opportunities for his teammates. Shot twice on goal. But he only hit the target from the penalty spot. He was also traditionally left out of the team. There are too few touches of the ball – only 22 – to significantly influence the combinations. Besides the traditional complaints about heading the ball – despite his size, Haaland is not a master at winning at the top with passes to his teammates – there is another problem.
Haaland has missed 14 clear chances this season. nuclear submarine. Only Aston Villa striker Watkins has made more misses from good positions. Last season, Haaland was number one in this dubious statistic. He has 34 missed shots when he could have scored a goal. Chelsea’s Nicholas Jackson had 24 misses and now has 10. But analysts note that the Senegalese has started working on himself.
And Haaland’s problem at this stage of his career is neglect. The giant believes in his unique talent. Impudence has saved many attackers. Another former Borussia Dortmund striker, Pole Lewandowski, is also incredibly arrogant in his approach. But Robert has an ambition rooted in experience. And Holland pretends to be confident. His rivals saw through him. Erling jumped to Arteta and Jesus, but did not scare the Gunners.
Haaland approaches Zlatan; on the pitch, the Norwegian does not admit his own mistakes. Erling does not drop lower in the formation and try to participate in the team’s play, like Harry Kane does. This is where self-confidence started to work against Haaland, as it did in his worst matches against Kylian Mbappe. Arrogance has been in fashion for a long time, but it is not always a good method of dealing with a football crisis. It’s time for Erling to analyze his mistakes.
The Netherlands does not tolerate high blood pressure
Fake it till you make it – the old rule. But it’s hard to feign calm if you don’t control yourself, as Holland did in the season’s hottest episodes. It’s also difficult to feign confidence when you miss penalties in the Champions League and nuclear submarine. The Netherlands’ problems lie on different levels, which is why it is so difficult to bring them together into one package and solve them at the same time. Psychology is a single plane. Guardiola’s system, where they played with a fake striker, is different.
Opponents realized that without space, Haaland was lost and turned into a liability, as Manchester City actually played ten men in a number of central matches. The Norwegian’s teammates are also to blame. Foden, De Bruyne, Bernardo and the wingers, for various reasons, are not creating as many quality chances as Erling used to. Holland receives dry rations, which has an immediate effect. Minimal touches of the ball, little participation in combinations. Of course, we blame the footballer himself.
But Guardiola is also to blame. The decision to sell Argentine striker Julian Alvarez to Atlético turned out to be a mistake. They also gave Chelsea one of the most talented students in the city. Haaland, paired with Cole Palmer, could correct many of his traditional flaws. A young footballer, Erling is only 24 years old and often goes through difficult times. But it will be much easier for a person with such data to return to the game with a streak of goals.
And besides, there is the possibility that things could turn out even worse for Haaland. The attacker can break. Then the errors will be broadcast. And defenders won’t be afraid of the Norwegian’s physical advantage. Everyone realized that Erling was ill-prepared for the decisive battles. Failed to score winning goals in finals at various levels, from the Champions League to the FA Cup. Upset in nuclear submarine Chelsea and Arsenal, but there were also very weak matches against Juventus, Tottenham and Liverpool.
Manchester City prepares targeted transfers for January. They could sign a replacement for Rodri for good money. They are definitely looking for big wingers, since Doku, Grealish and Savinho do not complement Haaland. Let’s just remember the difficult character of the Norwegian. It is possible that Erling is slowly and surely looking for a new team. Moreover, even Real Madrid remains an option if Vinicius is convinced to move to the right flank of the attack, leaving the left edge to Mbappe.
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