Manchester City's comeback against Tottenham: Interpreting the impact of Haaland's absence on the team
Breaking the curse of 5 consecutive kneeling, Manchester City successfully counterattacked!
In the FA Cup 32-16 stage, Manchester City successfully counterattacked the powerhouse Tottenham, a game that not only made fans cheer for Manchester City, but also caused deep reflection on Haaland's absence. Manchester City has been to Tottenham Hotspur 5 times before, but he has knelt 5 times in a row and has not scored a goal. But this time, Pep Guardiola's side finally broke that spell by scoring at Tottenham's home goal and knocking out their opponents. Ake's late winner gave City a 1-0 knockout.
Manchester City dominate the match statistics.
Throughout the game, Manchester City performed well, completely dominating Tottenham with 57 per cent possession, who had just 43 per cent of the possession. In terms of shots on goal, Manchester City led 18-1 and shots on target were 5-1. However, the 1-0 scoreline was a bit embarrassing for Manchester City.
Is Haaland's absence a concern for Manchester City?
Manchester City's recent performances have raised concerns about the impact of Haaland's absence on the team. There have been complaints about Haaland, who should have been named last year's FIFA Player of the Year, but looking at City's recent results, Haaland's failure to win the award seems more reasonable. City's last defeat was against Villa when Haaland was on the pitch but has been sidelined since that game.
Manchester City's reign of terror: Haaland's absence has not affected the strength.
However, Manchester City have shown great strength in Haaland's absence. City have won nine and drawn one of their last 10 matches, with the only game they failed to win was a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, when they were 2-0 up but were chased twice by their opponents to draw on penalties. In those 10 games, Manchester City have scored 28 goals, an average of 2 goals per game8 goals.
Haaland's position and Manchester City's strength.
In the absence of Haaland, Manchester City has hardly suffered a loss of attacking power, and even successfully dealt with tough players such as Newcastle and Tottenham. Does that mean Haaland isn't an indispensable player for City?Pep Guardiola once led the team to the Champions League final with Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, which shows that Manchester City's strength does not depend on one player. In fact, Manchester City have won the Premier League four times in the last five years, and Haaland's contribution, while important, is not the only decisive factor.
Messi's example: core players and team strength.
Messi led the team to two finals and won the North American League Cup in the bottom team of the MLS, highlighting the key role of key players in the strength of the team. In contrast, Haaland led the Norwegian team to miss the World Cup and the European Championship in a row, which is why 107 national or representative team captains voted Messi with the highest score, while Haaland only had 64 votes and finally missed the best FIFA player.
Conclusion: Haaland's position needs to be reassessed.
In the absence of Erling Haaland, City's performance proved that the overall quality of the team is much greater than the contribution of any one player. Is Haaland's place in the Manchester City squad really indispensable? Perhaps behind this counterattack is a problem that needs to be re-evaluated. Fans are looking forward to Haaland as soon as possible, but City's successful comeback has also raised the spotlight on the importance of team strength in modern football.