It should hardly be possible. If you play for Manchester City, you usually get the ball a lot. When the Light Blues smashed Bournemouth 4-0 last weekend, they played 649 successful passes, according to Opta. This match should be easier for Haaland than the one against West Ham the week before. It was total dominance against a newly promoted team many predict last in the table. But there was one player who was barely involved. Erling Haaland touched the ball eight times. He hit two passes. One created a goal. The second was from kick-off. The star who was supposed to score the goals became an extra. Little back room This match should be easier for Haaland than the one against West Ham a week ago, when he scored two goals on his league debut. That performance swept almost all skepticism aside. But Bournemouth played in the way that Haaland likes least. They came with five defenders in a tight line in front of their own goal. They lay deep. They gave away little back room. Haaland was given neither space nor time. He was isolated. STATISTICS: Haaland was able to record a goal-scoring pass after eight touches in City’s game on Saturday. Photo: CRAIG BROUGH / Reuters In front of him were four midfielders who blocked the passes he was supposed to receive. He tried to find room while his teammates rolled the ball. He took several runs, without success. When he was substituted after 73 minutes, he was clearly frustrated. But what could he have done? There was simply no room. Typical Pep Several people envisioned such situations when Haaland was ready for City. When news wrote before the season about what could bring him down, three out of three sources mentioned that he would get less space. They all thought he would figure it out. But it could be difficult. And that could take time. FRUSTRATED: Guardiola has always made high demands on his attacking players, which will probably give Haaland a bit of a headache. Photo: LEE SMITH / Reuters The reason was that Haaland was given such enormous space in Dortmund. He played in a team that attacked quickly, in a league where teams rushed forward and gave away space at the back. For Haaland, with his speed and his runs, these conditions were ideal. Playing forward for City is something else. They are so good that the opponents often almost give up on scoring themselves. They go to Manchester to “park the bus” in front of their own goal. Since City attack a bit like a handball team, with many moves, the theory was that Haaland could become like a line player who hardly got the ball. This happened against Bournemouth. And that is typical of teams coached by Pep Guardiola. Tough role That’s why there was so much excitement around Guardiola bringing in Haaland. That the striker gets little space is the reason why Guardiola has often used a midfielder at the top. At Barcelona, he wanted Lionel Messi there, because he was fast enough to create chances even when he was surrounded. At City, Haaland’s predecessor, Sergio Agüero, was capable of the same. And while Robert Lewandowski scored a lot for Guardiola at Bayern Munich, it was in Germany, where the rooms were bigger. PREDECESSOR: Sergio Agüero played ten years at Manchester City. Photo: Jon Super / AP Guardiola knows how tough the role is. – The most difficult job in the world is when you play forward against three defenders and three midfielders, and you are in the middle, said Guardiola after the match at the weekend. Haaland is a completely different type to Messi and Agüero, with his 195 centimeters and long legs. Never before has a player in Guardiola’s City touched the ball so little in a game. As in Dortmund The contrast against the West Ham game is enormous. There, City met a team that wanted to defend itself, but had slightly higher ambitions going forward. After all, they finished seventh last season. At times West Ham pressed high. The few spaces they gave away were big enough for City – and Haaland – to punish them. Against Bournemouth, Haaland got the ball five times, as you can see below. The light blue arrows are the passes that led to completions. Against West Ham, he received the ball 27 times, before being replaced after 77 minutes. He moved deeper into the pitch because West Ham were higher. The yellow arrow is the stab from Kevin De Bruyne that led to the goal. This was more normal for Haaland, who hit 21 successful passes, much the same as he used to do in Dortmund. It’s not much, but far more than two. So how concerned should he be about his performance against Bournemouth? Defense in chess Not very. For City, it means nothing as long as they win 4-0. It is worse for Haaland himself, who is so obsessed with scoring goals. Few, if any, will see these numbers as evidence that targets are drying up. Haaland has already removed much of the pressure on him by scoring twice against West Ham. Moreover, Haaland was dangerous the few times he got the ball against Bournemouth. The only pass outside of the kick-off was a great flick to Ilkay Gündogan, which gave City the lead. Two of the other four times he received the ball, he finished. Especially the last one, a low cross from Jack Grealish, he could have easily scored on. On another occasion, Haaland should have received the ball in front of an open goal by Phil Foden, who instead shot himself. A post from De Bruyne was a bit too long. A finish was tipped over the crossbar. So Haaland got chances. He was a threat. THREAT: In two games, Haaland has scored two goals and had an assist. Photo: CRAIG BROUGH / Reuters He also played a role without the ball. De Bruyne explained to VG that the järbuen created space for the midfield, especially Gündoğan, by tying up the stoppers. In this way, Haaland can be the piece that keeps the defense in check, while others get free leeway. Confident boss This makes it too easy to judge performance with a couple of unusual statistics. But: They show that such matches can be a challenge for Haaland as a goalscorer. The solutions are about pace, timing and chemistry between him and the midfield. They may take time to find. Perhaps it will be that Haaland is the best against the best and the weakest against the weakest. But Guardiola seems confident that the interaction against the small teams will improve. – We will find him, Guardiola said on Saturday. He is usually right. In any case, he has seen that City play well even with Haaland at the top. The light blues usually find solutions against weak teams. As long as Haaland scores in the regular games, there is probably no one at City who will complain.
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