Erling Haaland
Pep Guardiola believes now is the time for Erling Haaland to add another string to his bow at Manchester City .
Pep Guardiola said “I like when he runs a lot. I like when he presses like an animal. I like it,”
The manager said on Saturday after Haaland scored his 10th hat-trick in a City shirt.
Pep Guardiola said “It helps to score a goal. When you are connected defensively, you are connected offensively. When you are disconnected defensively and you run and the ball surprises you, you are not precise. We need him. This is not negotiable. If you don’t score a goal, it’s fine. But you need to do it [the pressing]. Especially when we link up with him he has to control better the ball. But we are working with him on it. Hopefully he can do it.”
Haaland has four goals from his opening two games, and only last week questioned whether he needed to be more involved in City’s build-up play. Guardiola’s revelation that he spoke to Haaland about his overall play in the summer suggests the striker was well aware of his manager’s demands, as do Guardiola’s comments that Haaland ‘changed his mind’ after their talks. So if Haaland is yet to be fully convinced, maybe that is why Guardiola went public. And maybe another persuasive voice from inside the dressing room will work to get the striker onboard. ”
Ilkay Gundogan said “If he plays on the same level like he used to when I was here or in my last year, then I don’t even think that he needs to improve. He just has to try to maintain that level and try to get the goals, because that is his main job, work for the team, keep the ball, make it easier for players around himself because at the end it is going to be easier for himself. It is always about supporting each other, helping each other, being close to each other, when we are attacking. And I guess also this is a reason why he is also enjoying playing with me, close to each other, because there is a certain understanding between us and we will work on that continuously so we can obviously profit from each other in the future.”
But the more Gundogan talks, the more he agrees with Guardiola’s view of Haaland’s all-round contribution and how it can help City’s overall play. And having worked with Haaland in his first City season, Gundogan sees a player with the personality and attitude to continually improve.
Ilkay Gundogan said “When you have such numbers of course it is also to deal with the expectation from people because the expectations are always high. We all remember also last year and the year before when he didn’t score for one, two, three games, there were people already criticising, is he fitting the team or this or that? And dealing with that at such a young age is not so easy. “
But I have to say his behaviour inside the dressing room, his attitude, the way he is with people, whether it is players or staff, is just incredible. I think he is an example also as a human being of how we treat the people around himself and also how he makes not just himself better but also us better. And that is why it is a big privilege to share the dressing room with him.”
