Carragher blames Haaland for City’s failures
Is Haaland at fault at Manchester City?
In the latest Premier League game, Spurs got the better of Man City as they handed Arsenal a boost toward the title race. It was Jamie Carragher who claimed that the Norwegian star striker Erling Haaland may have made a mistake by moving to the Etihad.
Pep’s side failed to capitalize on the opportunity of cutting short the points difference between them and league leaders Arsenal. Especially when the Gunners themselves lost points against Everton.
The Spanish coach has led the Sky Blues to four Premier League titles in six years. Moreover, the signing of Haaland was meant to be the final piece to the puzzle as the club aims for European glory.
However, Sky Sports’ Carragher believes City has in fact become worse with the arrival of the Norwegian striker. He claims that it was a wrong decision on his part to leave Signal Iduna Park.
What did the Pundit say?
During the post-match coverage, the English pundit said, “He was very frustrated, and I’ve felt this even when he was scoring all of his goals at the start of this season. Obviously, he’s still well ahead in the top-scoring ranks, but I think we’re only seeing 60% of Erling Haaland.
“You think of that goal that he scored at West Ham on the first day of the season, where there’s space in behind and he makes that run. I know that’s not there that often because of the way City play, but he’s come from a league with Borussia Dortmund where it’s a counter-attacking league, and it’s end-to-end, and you see that blistering pace he’s got. Now you don’t see it.
“He may have actually picked the wrong club to actually get the best out of him. You’re laughing, but we’re not seeing everything of Erling Haaland, and Manchester City now; not because of Erling Haaland, we can say they’re a different team, but they’ve scored exactly the same amount of goals.
“He’s scored 25 Premier League goals, but Man City as a team have scored the same amount of goals, and they’re conceding more, and it’s far easier to counterattack them as well, so they’re a different team and a lesser team with Erling Haaland in the team.
“Again, it’s not his fault. Manchester City as a team will not play end-to-end football – it’s not Pep Guardiola’s way. His players don’t have the power, the pace, or the energy to play end-to-end, they build up slowly, they push the opposition back to the edge of the box, they play from there and when they lose it they win it back quickly.
“Erling Haaland has still scored 25 Premier League goals, all of those are coming across and he’s putting them in, but we’re not seeing the full package of what this player can do because of the team he’s actually gone to.”
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