It is difficult to read what is going on inside the heads of the superstars, but if we want to know something about Erling Braut Haaland’s mentality at the moment, it helps to look at his celebration against Crystal Palace last Saturday. Jærbuen had two goals in eight games. There were few for him to be. City were chasing Arsenal in the table. They played away. It was dark. The rain poured down. Haaland wasted a great chance. For 77 minutes, City pushed against a defensive wall. One could imagine headlines à la “Haaland goalless off the pitch as City conceded points”. But then Haaland scored on a penalty kick. When City had gone 1-0 down, he beat his chest and celebrated so wildly towards the away fans that he almost elbowed coach Pep Guardiola. He seemed extra fired up, Haaland. And there was perhaps another reason for that. The Haaland debate It is almost impossible to escape criticism as a star forward on one of the world’s best teams. So far this season, Haaland has 39 goals in 36 games for City, numbers we tend to associate with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Nevertheless, several voices question how valuable Haaland is to the team. MANAGER: Pep Guardiola’s task is to get the best out of Haaland and the entire Manchester City team. Photo: TONY OBRIEN / Reuters One theory has always been that City as a collective is weakened by using a classic striker, because he contributes little in the building game. With a striker who is better on small surfaces, City would attack with more fluidity and unpredictability. Also, the pressing game was better last season, when City used a hard-working midfielder at the top. Yes, Haaland wants to score goals. But City as a team has become weaker and lets in more. These predictions were already made before the season. Now in February, the analyst John Muller argued on the respected website The Athletic that Haaland had played exceptionally well, but that Guardiola had not yet fine-tuned the attack around him. The analysis had several statistics and graphs that built up under this conclusion. One point was that Haaland does not pull out to the sides as a more wandering forward would do, which forces other midfielders to take the job. City had also had more counterattacks against them than before. All in all, Guardiola had a job to do with Haaland. – It is not easy to get a robot to write poetry, wrote Muller, a reference to Haaland’s physical style and the playful artists around him. With Norwegian eyes, it is tempting to dismiss such matters as nonsense. But it is not that simple. Critical plays Because it is true that City have five points fewer now than when they had played the same number of league games last season. Then they had scored 64 goals and conceded 17. Now they have scored 67 goals and conceded 25. There are so many complex factors surrounding a football team – tactical, physical, mental – that it is impossible to point to one reason. City have had injuries in defence. Kevin De Bruyne has had a dip in form after the World Cup. Guardiola has said that at some point the players lost their enthusiasm. But since Haaland is the new player who has changed the team’s attack, much of the attention is focused on him. STAR: Erling Braut Haaland continues to break records. Photo: ANNEGRET HILSE / Reuters And it is not easy for Guardiola to adjust the team. It is not unreasonable to say that Haaland can score goals at the same time that City has tactical challenges. Guardiola has said that it will take time for them to fully get used to each other. Recently, an analysis by The Athletic found that 68 percent of Haaland’s runs do not lead to him getting the ball. In various TV studios, player legends have also discussed Haaland. Especially in February, a lot was said. Jamie Carragher believed that Haaland “may have chosen the wrong club”. Thierry Henry pointed out that Haaland had to do more himself to get the ball. – Haaland occasionally takes the same run regardless of which teammate has the ball. “I don’t always think that helps the team,” Henry said. Then Henry added that he thinks City have become more “predictable” with Haaland. EXPERT DUO: Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher. Photo: LEE SMITH / Reuters Whatever one thinks of such opinions, it is difficult for Haaland not to register them. Before the Palace game, Guardiola was asked about Haaland’s little involvement in the game. Guardiola also defended Haaland after Henry’s outburst. Even Leipzig coach Marco Rose was asked about the Haaland criticism before Tuesday’s game. – If you don’t want him, send him to me! Rose said according to the BBC. And of course Haaland himself gets questions about the plans. – There will always be critics. I don’t care, he said in February, he said according to the Manchester Evening News. Fortunately for Haaland, he is a master at this. One possible reaction after a tough period would have been to doubt one’s own skills. Another is to score five goals in a knock-out round in the Champions League. Like Cristiano and Zlatan, it didn’t take many minutes to see that Haaland was on the move against Leipzig. This is the tournament he loves the most, where he has made the biggest headlines. As the goals poured in, we learned of one record after another. Haaland plays for the history books. And he knows it. But even for him, this was a performance packed with will and intensity. The best example was the second goal, where he rushes under pressure, forces the keeper to kick the ball out short, receives a bounce ball in return and puts it back. As soon as De Bruyne has fired a shot, Haaland sprints towards the goal to chase the rebound. 2–0. The setting was reminiscent of Zlatan Ibrahimović, an inspiration for Haaland. The Swede loved criticism and adversity. It gave him anger and adrenaline – fuel for the next fight. FLY HIGH: Haaland has found his wild scoring form back. Photo: CARL RECINE / Reuters Haaland combines this will with a Cristiano Ronaldo-like obsession with scoring as many goals as possible. As soon as he had two, he wanted three. Even when he was substituted with five goals, he told Guardiola he wanted the sixth. Regardless, the job was done. If there were questions about Haaland before the match, he answered five times. He could hardly do more. The big goal The irony of the debate surrounding Haaland, however, is that it is not about what he does. The point is the interaction between him and his teammates; his place in Guardiola’s system and the effect on the team as a whole. If Haaland is to silence the criticism, City must first win. Fortunately for Haaland, the team will mostly do it when he scores five goals. And if he really wants to sweep all doubts aside, nothing is better than winning the Champions League, the trophy he has dreamed of for years, which City has been chasing even longer, and which Guardiola has not won since 2011. Of course, it is not just about Haaland to lead the team to the top of the tournament. But by ignoring the noise and delivering the goals, he can do his part. And against Leipzig he certainly did that.
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