West Ham United (A) | Sun 7th Aug | Post Match Thread

I want to make it extremely clear tht I am not having a go at anyone specifically.

When Haaland was through for his second you knew it was going to be a goal even before he took the shot. I can't remember the last time I felt like that, maybe aguero?
Agüero was coolness personified in that situation. Like Jimmy Greaves, he always found the first few inches inside the post.

Whenever one of those who’s just left was in that position I expected him not to score and he nearly always didn’t.

Haaland gets us back to that level where you are settled in that fact he’s deadly in that situation and thrives off it.
 
Copying this interesting analysis of Guardiola's tactics against West Ham from VG.no:
(with help from Google Translate)


ANALYSTS BELIEVE HAALAND HAS ACCELERATED GUARDIOLA'S TACTICAL PLAN

West Ham were taken off guard by Pep Guardiola's tactical moves. Norwegian football analysts believe that the trend is here to stay.


- Tactically, they were much better than us today. We hadn't prepared for it because we haven't really seen it before, it was very difficult to deal with tactically, said West Ham manager David Moyes after the 0-2 loss against Manchester City.

The move Moyes is talking about is mainly that both of Manchester City's backs were very central in the pitch, instead of the typical starting position along the sidelines.

- I'm not saying they were different because of Haaland, I'm saying they were different because they played both of their backs on either side of Rodri. That created a different problem. They outnumbered us in the midfield so that we couldn't get hold of the ball, said Moyes.

Football analysts that VG.no has spoken to believe that Erling Braut Haaland's constant backroom threat is one of the reasons why Guardiola was given the opportunity to adapt his tactical system.

- City players base much of their game on dominance in midfield. Haaland is not a player who is good at coming down and contributing in this part of the game. On the other hand, he will lie in the blind spot of the nearest centre-back and make runs on through balls into the back room. This will open up more space for City's playmakers, as Haaland will most likely tie up two centre-backs, says Øyvind Eide, sports director at Norway's top sports college.

Futsal coach and VG.no writer Kai Bardal points to several things about Guardiola's tactics:
  • With the narrow backs, Manchester City got many players centrally, as Guardiola is so keen on.
  • With Haaland, Manchester City gets the backroom threat centrally in the pitch, instead of on the wings, as has often been the case in the past.
- I think that City would have moved in that direction anyway, but Haaland accelerates Guardiola's plan. He makes it possible by being a two-metre-tall and lightning-quick backroom threat. And it worked - compared to a similar match just before the holiday, says Bardal.

The backs are narrower and the wings are wider. At the same time, the centre-forward is the advanced player on the pitch, and not the wings, as it was when Guardiola used a so-called "false nine".

- Foden and Grealish are wide, then City get good one-on-one players out there. At the same time as they keep the attack central with the backs in. They form a kind of diamond shaped formation in the middle in the free play, says Eide - and adds:
- Pep also made this move in Bayern, where he used Ribery and Robben as wide holders, and the full-backs into the middle to gain a central advantage. Then it is very beneficial to have a typical striker up front who stretches the team and binds the players together. I'm guessing a number of teams will face City with five at the back, to be able to cover enough space around Haaland, and at the same time get enough pressure on the edges.

Viaplay expert Tor-Ole Skullerud commented on Haaland's Premier League debut and also emphasizes the narrow backs in his analysis.

- Guardiola has done a lot of this in the past also in City and in Bayern, but perhaps even more clearly on both sides this time, he says.

He points out that by outnumbering their opponents in the back of the pitch, Manchester City made it easier to play into the creative midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan, so that they could once again look for Erling Braut Haaland in the back room.

- Essentially, it's about them having to vary between playing to him coming forward, but most of all looking for him in the rooms behind the opponent's back four. I would think that is on the agenda every day, says Skullerud to VG.no.

In addition to a slightly different structure of the game, the analysts point to two other areas where Manchester City is strengthened: chance creation and counterattacks.

Last year, only Liverpool (897) created more chances than Manchester City (869).

- Haaland is ridiculously good in front of goal. It will suit City well when they get a player who can accommodate all of these, says Eide.

According to the Premier League's official statistics, Manchester City scored only two goals on counterattacks last season. Only five teams scored fewer on counterattacks. Haaland's second goal against West Ham gave a small hint of what the opponents must now be prepared for.

- That will make City dangerous in this phase as well, says Eide.
 

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