Manchester City let Erling Haaland cost a lot. The Norwegian striker came to the island from Dortmund for a total package estimated at 300 million (transfer fee 70 million euros).
There is no consensus among football experts as to whether Haaland, who lives primarily from his strength and power and needs free space in front of him, is in the right place in Guardiola’s ball-loving Kleinklein game system or not.
“The season is eleven months long”
The duel for the Community Shield Cup between champions Manchester City and cup winners Liverpool on Saturday provided a first clue. The game ended 1-3 for Liverpool’s Klopp team and with a disappointing performance from Haaland.
And the Norwegian can’t even do much regarding it. His playstyle just doesn’t quite fit into the system yet. He hardly got balls, was almost never played, often ran into space and was visibly unsettled. And the striker mightn’t convert the few chances he had. Shortly before the end he hit a rebound from the goalie at close range on the top of the crossbar – that was almost embarrassing.
Was City wrong to sign him? “But no,” Guardiola builds up his newcomer: “He’s strong. Next time he hits things in the net. He will still help us, the season is eleven months long.”
Nuñez outshines Haaland
The evening was even more bitter for Haaland that the new Liverpool signing hit and stole the show across the board. Darwin Nuñez outshines Haaland both on and off the pitch. First he got the penalty that made it 2-1 (83′) and then he made the decision with his spectacular pike header (94′).
After that there was no holding back. The man from Uruguay tore his jersey off his body and slid down to the fans on his knees. They celebrated him before without end. pure ecstasy.
Haaland had also imagined such a competitive debut. Instead, Guardiola’s praise following the game was pretty sober: “He fought, moved well. It’s good for him to see the reality in the new country, in the new league.” (red)
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