Man City became ineffective in attack in the loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup when key striker Erling Haaland was absent.
The problem for a team that owns Erling Haaland is how to respond when the Norwegian player is absent. That’s what Pep Guardiola had to face when Mancheser City was eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Newcastle. Along with Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias, Haaland saw his teammates lose minimally at St James’ Park.
Explaining the decision to rest Haaland, Pep Guardiola replied after the match: “I think Walker played too much, as did Haaland. We have a lot of matches ahead. We can use them for 10- The last 15 minutes, but I decided not to do it.”
Haaland played 53 times for Man City last season, 30 in his injury-plagued final year at Dortmund. And also because Haaland scored too many goals, Man City had problems. It is difficult for The Citizens to find a replacement when he is absent.
Julian Alvarez, who replaced Haaland in the loss to Newcastle, has shown high form this season. However, besides Alvarez, only defender Nathan Ake has “fired” this season in the starting lineup against Newcastle.
Oscar Bobb has talent but has never scored a goal in the first team. Sergio Gomez, a left back who operates on the right wing, has not yet “opened an account” at Man City. Kalvin Phillips is similar.
Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic only scored 9 goals in 330 matches for Real Madrid and Chelsea. Jack Grealish also had an unimpressive last season with 5 goals in 50 matches. But because of Haaland, none of that matters.
Man City has 131 goals in the 2020-2021 season when no one scored more than 17 goals. Changing types, Man City’s threats come from many different positions. To put it simply, The Citizens is not dependent on any individual.
Since Erling Haaland arrived, everything has changed. Dangerous balls almost have to find their way to the feet of the former Dortmund player as a matter of necessity.
Last season, Haaland’s 52 goals accounted for more than a third of Man City’s total goals. The remaining 99 goals belong to other players and 5 players have at least 10 goals. But two of them, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, have left and the third, Kevin De Bruyne, is still injured. The fourth, Phil Foden, started on the bench against Newcastle and Alvarez was last.
Man City is lacking attacking midfielders and wingers capable of scoring goals. Rookie Matheus Nunes only scored 1 goal in 40 matches for Wolves and is a far cry from Gundogan. Meanwhile, Jeremy Doku Newcastle cannot be a reliable choice in terms of goalscoring ability compared to Mahrez.
If Haaland cannot play every match, it will be a big problem for Man City. Obviously, the Norwegian player is the key difference between The Citizens and Arsenal.
Pep will probably gradually realize Man City’s dependence on Haaland and it’s time for him to consider new options.
