Erling Haaland and Manchester City know they must win the Champions League… after many mistakes under Pep Guardiola, they now have a game changer that Europe’s elite are desperate to avoid.
There has been a slight change in the way Manchester City talk about the Champions League this year. Previously, it has been that they would like to win it. Now, it is that they must win it.
In any case, they have always thought the latter, but they have never said it so openly, and a good percentage of Pep Guardiola’s team have come up with similar lines. In particular, that includes the most level-headed of all, club captain Ilkay Gundogan.
Perhaps that’s due to charging near misses or inglorious defeats during Guardiola’s tenure as a redemptive drive. Or maybe it’s because of the big guy out front.
Erling Haaland, with 39 goals on the season after five during his demolition of RB Leipzig on Tuesday night, can only be extremely honest in front of the cameras; His feelings about the city in Europe just confirm what everyone thought and yet felt amazing all the same.
“I could easily make headlines with this response,” he said. They have won four of the last five Premier League titles. They didn’t bring me in to win the Premier League because they already know how to win it. So, you can read between the lines.
Erling Haaland scored five goals for Man City in a 7-0 win over RB Leipzig on Tuesday night
He is fully aware that he was not brought in to help City win the Premier League once again.
Haaland knows his task is to lead City to Champions League glory after several mistakes
Like his destructiveness inside the box, there wasn’t much subtlety. A big big hole between those lines. “I am here to try to help the club develop further and win the Champions League for the first time.”
There are certainly games where, looking back, you wonder if Haaland’s inclusion could have seen City lift the one trophy that eludes them.
Real Madrid were out in last season’s semi-final and any presentable chances vanished while sailing at the Bernabéu. He missed a crucial early penalty at Tottenham in 2019 that had a huge impact on the eventual elimination of away goals. Will he do anything out of the ordinary to turn around a rather murky performance against Chelsea in the Porto 2021 final?
Guardiola will never know, but his odds are better with the intuitive 22-year-old, that’s for sure, and it’s the main reason none of the other seven clubs will want them in the quarterfinals.
“Having a weapon like Erling in this competition is important,” Guardiola said with relative discretion.
Haaland expected to score big when he saw this team without a number 9 last season, eyeing the spaces and opportunities, licking his lips in anticipation. John Stones said that ‘I knew it was good, but…’ and that’s as close to a surprise as you’ll get.
The goals are impressive, but there has been a growing feeling in recent weeks that the connection has worked too. Does Haaland make City worse? Obviously not. Ever? Obviously not. But there’s been a spell of him getting to know them and vice versa. What became clear on Tuesday, particularly early on, was how he came off the front line so regularly. He gave City a smooth drive from the start.
Pep Guardiola believes that he has a serious ‘weapon’ in Haaland that can help City in Europe
‘If I had to choose one thing to improve, it would be to help the [other] the players improve’, said Haaland. ‘This is something I would love. Put people in better positions, come in to put them in better positions.’
Their average position against Leipzig was around 10 yards deeper than at Crystal Palace last weekend. That may not seem like a huge distance, and it will be affected by the opposition’s defensive line, but it greatly impacts the way City can build. He also gave her more running space when he picked up Nathan Ake’s fly ball, only to reject the opportunity when it was clear.
“I have lost many occasions with my left foot,” he added. ‘I have to be much better. It’s an easy thing to say, but he could have scored more goals. [this season]. I lost many opportunities. In my mind, I always have to reach for more and stay hungry.’
If City were to make it all the way to Europe and the FA Cup, they potentially have another 19 games on their plate. While scoring around one goal per game, he could reach 60. Unlikely, but not impossible for him.