MANCHESTER / MADRID (VG) Now that Manchester City has already incorporated the big and powerful spearhead Erling Braut Haaland (22), it’s giving them an attacking weapon they didn’t have before. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti prepares ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final game.
- Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Erling Braut Haaland for giving him a new attacking dimension.
- Guardiola highlights Haaland’s work with off-the-ball pressing, ability to hold onto the ball and create stats.
- Previously, questions had been raised about whether Haaland was suitable for Manchester City, but now he is a key player for the team.
- Guardiola believes Haaland can improve his first touch, and says the player is willing to work on this.
– We can only use his pure presence. And we He should Pep Guardiola said last week.
Guardiola refers to several areas in which Manchester City gained a new offensive dimension with Haaland:
- Top pressing off the ball and hard defensive work.
- The ability to hold onto the ball when Manchester City plays long passes.
- Good runs that cause big problems for the opponent.
- An “extraordinary” ability to put opponents in good positions.
- At the same time, they lose the “false nine”, which can be useful for opening low defenses.
In the previous two seasons, he had favored two different midfielders in the forward role, in a so-called “false nine” role. It was Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and partly Kevin De Bruyne. The pure striker last season was Gabriel Jesus, now at Arsenal.
- On Tuesday evening, the Champions League semi-final match will be held between Manchester City and Real Madrid. The match starts at 21.00, and the match is broadcast on TV 2 Sport Premium and She can be watched on VG Live.
Now it is more than one “classic nine”“classic nine”Typical advice They play with them, and Guardiola brings out all of Haaland’s abilities other than scoring goals.
– He gives us a lot and participates in many aspects. It’s a game of pressure, defensive work and long passes. We didn’t have that before. The Spanish coach says it’s about how we help him keep the ball, how we can play with him and the runs he does with the other players.
Guardiola also highlights the Norwegian’s ability to send goalscoring passes. He has seven in total in the Premier League.
He also has good feet and is sensitive to passing. The pass to Kevin (De Bruyne) against Arsenal was phenomenal, he says of this involvement:
He believes De Bruyne’s first touch and pass – which was exactly in the space the Belgian could attack most to attack towards goal – was of the highest order.
– But I think he can improve on the first touch. That’s what we’re talking about and he’s very open when it comes to talking about these things. He says “Yeah, yeah, I can do that, I can do better.” It’s very positive for him, and also in life, says Guardiola.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti does not feel that Tuesday’s opponent has changed much from last year’s meetings, despite the introduction of the Norwegian counter-attack. but:
– Looks like a more complete team compared to previous years. Haaland is different from the previous strikers. They haven’t changed their style much, the Italian said at Monday’s press conference in Madrid, but they have become more direct and can benefit from it.
He describes the Norwegian as “very dangerous”, but insists it has more to do with Haaland on Tuesday night.
– Erling is very simple, to be honest. He’s still 22, and he’s still a kid. I see myself as young and I am twenty-six years old. He has developed well in the team, he is very humble and has the desire to improve, Manchester City star Rodri said when asked by TV2 in Madrid.
But for the post-New Year period, questions have been raised about whether Haaland is making Manchester City better or worse. Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher went so far as to suggest that The Norwegian chose the wrong club for their strength.
It seems like a distant past now, but sports journalist Sam Lee still believes there are situations in which Haaland takes something away from City compared to last year.
When they play against low opponents, Haaland doesn’t have the opportunity to add an extra powerful pass option like the ‘false nine’ he did last season.
On the other hand, Haaland gave them a boost in another phase of the game.
– The most important thing is that they can play more in the transfers, and that’s the most toxic situation in it. This applies when the opponent is more adventurous, which gives them space. When he doesn’t get those spaces, when City have to be patient, they aren’t very good at finding the pass in the back spaces. Then you see Erling getting frustrated, says Lee, who follows City closely for the famous magazine.
The match against West Ham on Wednesday is an example: here they struggled against low visitors in the first half, and Haaland was frustrated. But after going 1-0 down in the group, the spaces opened up and Haaland was able to score his historic 35th league score of the season.
Premier League
- Champions League
- European league
- UEFA Conference League
- exclusion
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