Erling Haaland: Has the Manchester City striker played a lot of football?

This suited Haaland well, but attacking faster has implications for how the team defends. By attacking quickly, teams are more likely to lose the ball and find themselves with fewer players behind the ball, before being counter-attacked.

Guardiola spoke about this version of City, subtly hinting at his desire to reintroduce a more measured approach in line with his previously successful teams, saying: “I like [how much we run]Last season we didn’t have that. But this is not enough, we have to play better [so] “We can run less” after their 3-0 win over West Ham in December.

This appears to be the case as the season progresses. In theory, by playing in a more controlled manner, City will concede fewer counterattacks while also facing more low attacks.

However, recent injuries to several City players have affected their ability to perform these tactics technically and physically.

What does this mean for Haaland?

Losing ball-playing defenders reduces the speed at which City can get into dangerous situations. There are fewer passes played from deep for Haaland to reach. There is also a decline in City’s ability to stabilize teams.

Gvardiol ranks second in both break-through passes (11.9) and progressive carries (11.7) per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. Without him, City are often stuck between the two positions in which Haaland has shown quality.

If City can push teams back, Haaland usually has two answers.

The first is that Haaland will run into the penalty area before stopping or slowing down. The defenders around him will continue to move towards their goal, often in response to the winger’s movement. The ball then finds Haaland in open space to score from.

Doku’s ability to push defenses back before pulling the ball back into space in front of defences, was a way of creating chances that Haaland missed, with the Belgian yet to find the same form he showed at the start of the season. Foden and Nico O’Reilly, being natural left-footed players, showed the same quality at times too.