After undergoing a medical examination for Manchester City, Haaland is only one step away from joining the Blue Moon. Can Haaland be the last piece of the puzzle for City to hit the Champions League? How will his arrival change City's tactical system? Adam Bate, a well-known reporter of "Sky Sports", conducted a detailed analysis, and the following is the full analysis.
Being a centre-forward for Manchester City should be the easiest role on the football pitch. Manchester City are the premier league team with the most possessions, the most touches in the penalty area and the most goals this season. As centre-forwards, they just have to stand in front of the goal and send the ball into the net.
However, things are not so simple. In fact, no player in this manchester City team seems to want to play in this position, Jesus prefers to go to a position where space can be found, and Gralis's performance in the middle is the most convincing.
In this position, Foden and Sterling sometimes perform better, but they are obviously happier on the wing. Therefore, Guardiola had to ask Bernardo Silva to play in this position. Even though he knew it wasn't for the Portuguese midfielder, Guardiola did it anyway.
The Manchester city manager explained, "He likes to cut from the outside to the inside and staying on the inside will make him struggle a bit, but we have to understand that. When the opponent's defensive line is so far behind, it is not easy for the players who play there. ”
For City, they can often find space elsewhere. In particular, they can get space further back, such as Cancello and De Bruyne can pass threatening balls on the ribs, Sterling has his favorite passage, and Gundogan often inserts himself into the box to receive it.
So, in Guardiola's side, the centre-forward sometimes feels like a bait, a game waiting for a pass from a midfielder. It's like Edson, where focus is the most important requirement for him. In this position, patience is everything.
Even Aguero thought the job was unacceptable. He is said to have complained that his teammates did not pass the ball to himself. Before Guardiola took charge, Aguero averaged more than 50 touches per game, after which his touchdown dropped to less than 40.
In order to cope with such a situation, the players need to complete a mental transformation, they need to focus on shooting and scoring, which can impress them. Aguero did, and since OPTA's technical stats, few Premier League players have scored more goals than expected.
Jesus, however, is the opposite. Since he joined Manchester City, his expected goals have surpassed those of his other team-mates. However, once he can't get enough passes, he still gets frustrated and wants to contribute in other ways.
Haaland's characteristics and goal-breaking ability will make him more comfortable adapting to this position. In the Champions League, he averaged 36.5 touches per game, lower than other top strikers and far less than Messi (86.96), Benzema (54.07), Mbappe (51.52) and Cristiano Ronaldo (49.14). Watching the ball pass by his side seemed unlikely to bother him.
Of course, he also needs to change the way he plays. Borussia Dortmund tend to use counter-attacks to create scoring opportunities, while City are unlikely to use this tactic. Only six teams have scored fewer goals with counter-attacks this season than City. Compared to other top teams, City have created a lower percentage of chances with quick counter-attacks.
But to think that Haaland will only rely on finding space behind defenders is a mistake. Despite his strong body, he didn't just eat this bowl of rice. He has excellent technique and can shoot in tight areas.
In fact, in his first 8 games for Borussia Dortmund, Haaland scored nine goals with a single touch. At Manchester City, he gets a lot of comfortable passes from his teammates, which would be ideal for a player who doesn't mind how many times he touches the ball and only cares about a fatal blow.
Of course, it's a dangerous idea to think that signing a good goalscorer will make City automatically better. After joining a traditional centre-forward, City will lose something when organising attacks.
That's part of the reason Aguero once ran outside the box to pick up, as Guardiola was always looking for complete possession. However, with Haaland, City have a world-class striker who is young enough to adapt, assimilate, but also enough to bring something completely different.
Most importantly, he wants to play as a center. It may not be the simplest role in football, but it's safe to say that's why City signed him.