Kyle Walker Reveals Pep Guardiola’s Role in Haaland’s Struggles at Man City
Even though Erling Haaland leads the Premier League in scoring, it has been questioned whether Manchester City has become a poorer team with the Norwegian up front.
Kyle Walker, a defender for Manchester City, acknowledged that it can be tough for new players to integrate into Pep Guardiola’s system, amid doubts about leading scorer Erling Haaland.
Haaland went scoreless as the reigning Premier League champions lost 1-0 against Tottenham on Sunday. The former Borussia Dortmund player is the leading scorer in the Premier League with 25 goals, but some have questioned whether his arrival has had a negative impact on the team.
City’s setback at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prevented them from gaining ground on league leaders Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s club had been defeated by Everton on Saturday, but the margin remains at five points due to Guardiola’s team losing the next day.
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“It’s a process — he’s just joined Manchester City, and it’s a difficult team to integrate into due to the manager’s high demands and the style we play. It’s extraordinary,” Walker told Sky Sports after the loss.
“Erling has been fantastic. Nobody speaks when he is scoring goals and winning. Suddenly, when we don’t win and he doesn’t score, people question whether we play better without him.
“I hear that frequently. No one complains, however, as he scores his 25th goal of the season. This is our current roster until the end of the season. We will fight until the bitter end.”
Prior to Sunday’s encounter, City had played four times at Spurs’ new stadium under Guardiola and lost all four. Harry Kane’s record-setting goal proved decisive this time, despite the fact that Tottenham finished the game with 10 men when Cristian Romero was shown a second yellow card late in the match.
Former Tottenham defender Walker stated, “I’m not being critical of anyone, but there are certain things we can do better around the box, such as creating clear-cut chances, forcing the goalkeeper to make a save, and just creating more clear-cut actions as opposed to having possession around the box.” “At times, it is necessary to have accurate shots.”
A few weeks prior, City overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Antonio Conte’s squad 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium. This time, the Spurs manager was absent from the dugout, with Cristian Stellini taking his place as Antonio Conte recovers from gallbladder surgery.
Guardiola argued that City’s opponents hampered his team in north London by lining up defensively. “It is not easy when 10 players defend and sit back a bit more than they did two weeks ago at the Etihad,” remarked the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager. “We played well, began well, but may have missed the final pass to shoot.
“Sooner or later, [the Spurs away record] will change, but it’s remarkable that we haven’t scored a goal, considering we’ve missed penalties in the past. Finding an explanation is difficult.”
