Man City manager Pep Guardiola believes his star striker still needs to improve mentally.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has advised Erling Haaland to remain calm during periods when he cannot find the net. In his eyes, his contribution goes well beyond his simple task as a finisher.
Guardiola believes Haaland is a little too obsessed with scoring. “He’s obsessed with goals, but it’s not just about scoring a goal,” Guardiola said. “What also matters is the way he applauds, encourages his teammates and the first intense pressure. This is what we expect from Erling.
“Haaland does not need to score systematically”
The Catalan technician also highlighted mitigating circumstances due to the fact that the Norwegian is less prolific than usual. “But we must not forget that he was absent for two months. Returning to momentum is not easy. He is a great competitor who wants to score goals. We know this, so relax. If we don’t score today, or if he doesn’t score in 10 minutes, it doesn’t matter. He has to try, because the team always wins when it overcomes bad times.”
Finally, the Catalan coach recognized that his striker is faced with increasingly tight marking on the pitch: “Erling is young, he plays in the most difficult position on the pitch, surrounded by four or five players with little space. In the first half, maybe we didn’t have the special players, like Kevin (de Bruyne) for example, who could find him. In these moments, he must be positive. When he scored a goal he reacted, but he doesn’t need to score because he helps us in a lot of things. »
