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Guardiola does not believe Erling Haaland makes Manchester City more predictable
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has reacted to comments about top-scorer Erling Haaland making Manchester City more predictable, by saying the team’s problems had little to do with Haaland.
Guardiola disagrees with Henry on Haaland
A week ago, while analysing the UEFA Champions League on CBS Sport, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry accused Haaland of making the same runs and being too predictable thus harming Manchester City’s overall game.
Guardiola, however, has different ideas about what makes Manchester City look predictable at times, saying it has more to do with how Manchester City try to get the ball to the final third and their general process, rather than how Haaland himself sets up to receive from the team.
“I would say that I understand exactly what Titi [Thierry Henry] wants to say the fact we play and we put the balls to Haaland. [But] Being less predictable does not depend on Haaland it depends on the way we can make the process to arrive in different channels to the final third, not just with Erling.”
He further elaborated on what the team needed to get better entries in the final third, saying, “to be less predictable we need more runs from Kevin, more runs from Gundogan, more runs from the wingers, we need more runs when we arrive in the final third but to arrive in the final third we need the process.
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“We have to continue to try to get that process because I am 400% sure against Forest we were not predictable, absolutely not. But if you arrive here, here and fire the crosses or just pass to Erling that will be predictable.”
Bernardo Silva key to Manchester City’s process
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager also highlighted the importance of Bernardo Silva in the team’s set-up and said it was not strange to see Bernardo Silva in the left wing-back role having had two other attacking midfielders play there for Manchester City in the past.
“I'm not stupid to say that Bernardo's a full-back but he can do it because he's so intelligent, he's so clever. One against one he is a really good defender. With the ball he helps us to do the special way we want to play. That's why I play him in that position it happened with Oleks [Oleksander] Zinchenko in the past, we make 100 points with Fabian Delph.” Guardiola said.
He went further to explain exactly how Bernardo helps them at left-back and used the game against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League to butress his point.
Guardiola explained “The people don't realise and I understand it but the view is something like left-back defending that position, Bernardo helps us do what we have done against Nottingham Forest.
“Without Bernardo it would not be possible to concede [only] one counterattack. The amount of control of [the] game to put in the transitions, to create from right and left, the shots and here he arrive[s] for many things.”
Bernardo Silva has played as a makeshift hybrid between left-back and central midfield recently, and from all indications, he will continue to play to help Manchester City find some balance.
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