Erling Haaland wasn’t the problem for Manchester City yesterday the lack of service was | OneFootball

Manchester City were held to a frustrating nil-all draw with Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium yesterday. Pep Guardiola’s side played with no urgency in the first half as the home side sat deep with a low defensive block. That pattern continued in the second half. Although Pep Guardiola’s side had their chances late in yesterday’s match, they didn’t do enough to win the game.

But coming out of the game, there has been a school of thought that Erling Haaland doesn’t fit the system Pep Guardiola has utilised of late. For me, the problem was that there was no service for him to feed off in yesterday.

Erling Haaland wasn’t the problem for Manchester City yesterday; the way they played was.

In the first half of yesterday’s match, Manchester City played with no urgency. There was no width to their play, which played into Southampton’s hands. With Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol deployed in the full-back positions, they didn’t offer the width that Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly have in recent weeks. That was lacking in City’s play. James McAtee and Phil Foden drifted centrally but couldn’t create any opportunities of note in the first half. Too much was left to Kevin De Bruyne in the first half, which spoke to the issue at hand yesterday.

The introduction of Jeremy Doku at halftime in place of James McAtee did give Manchester City a threat on the left wing. But as the second half unfolded, Erling Haaland couldn’t get into the game. There was no service for him against Southampton’s low block. He almost set up a goal for Nico O’Reilly and Savinho after being played through by Kevin De Bruyne, but that was the best moment of the game for Haaland. The lack of service for him stood out, and he was rendered ineffective during yesterday’s match.

Erling Haaland will fit into Manchester City’s new system if there is width and urgency to their play.

It isn’t a stretch to say that Erling Haaland was rusty yesterday. He hadn’t played since March 30th until yesterday’s match. Pep Guardiola pointed this out after yesterday’s match. Speaking after the game, in quotes relayed by CityXtra, he said: “He’s (Haaland) been four, five weeks off! Today he played 97 minutes. He’s not a player like Phil [Foden] who needs only few training sessions to be fit, he moves his body and needs rhythm. But we have three games and go for it!”

But looking at whether or not Erling Haaland fits into Manchester City’s new system, it’s obvious to me that he does and will. He will be the focal point of it when he’s back fully fit and has his touch back. But what he will need is service and space in which to operate. That will come from Manchester City’s full-backs providing the width that was lacking yesterday, and not all teams play like Southampton did yesterday. If that occurs we will see Haaland given the opportunities he needs to thrive.

Yesterday’s draw against Southampton was a frustrating result for Manchester City. But looking at the game, the issue of if Erling Haaland fits into City’s new system wasn’t the issue for me. A lack of urgency and width to Manchester City’s play stood out more than Haaland’s fit. If those two elements return quickly, Haaland’s fit into Pep Guardiola’s system will become obvious.