Astonishing Revelation: Man City fans agree on one thing as they advices manager Pep Guardiola to sell star player Erling Haaland
Man City fans are adamant Erling Haaland should be dropped after his performance in their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus on Wednesday (December 11).
The 24-year-old ended the game, in which he played the full 90 minutes, having completed just five passes, made just 18 touches, and missed one big chance.
Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring with a header before former Leeds United midfielder Weston McKennie doubled their lead with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won just one from their last ten games across all competitions, their worst run of form since the legendary Spaniard took over back in 2016.
City now face the very real threat of falling out of the Champions League at the first hurdle, sitting 22nd in the new league phase with eight points from their opening six games with two remaining.
Man City ace Erling Haaland still scoring goals despite dismal run of form
Haaland remains the Premier League’s top goalscorer despite Man City’s ongoing issues, sitting level with Mohamed Salah on 13 and two above Cole Palmer on 11.
The striker is a key figure for Guardiola but some fans have taken to X, formally known as Twitter, to suggest the manager should come up with a different solution.
Introspection has washed over Pep Guardiola in recent weeks and as he talked about loneliness in defeat and requiring rest from the hamster wheel, it was left to Ruben Dias to fully describe the defiance inside Manchester City.
‘That people doubt is the one thing that brings you strength, inspires you to be greater,’ Dias said.
‘This is our legacy. More than the Treble, four in a row… all of it is spectacular but I do believe what defines a legacy is how you react in the most difficult moments of your career.
‘I’m a true believer in those moments being the ones that define you. We embrace it. Those are the ones I’ll for sure remember later.’
A bullish Dias is talking the talk amid City’s one victory in nine games, conceding 22 goals, and before a must-win tie at Juventus that will go some way to directing Guardiola towards two midweeks off in February or a Champions League play-off round nobody envisaged or predicted. Given the length of this season, ending at the Club World Cup in July, they are two extra games City could really do without.
Guardiola’s appearance on a podcast with renowned Spanish chef Dani Garcia, recorded the day before City’s 4-0 defeat at home against Tottenham last month, further illuminates the current mood.
Pep Guardiola has cut an increasingly troubled figure on the Manchester City touchline as this campaign wears on
Pep Guardiola has cut an increasingly troubled figure on the Manchester City touchline as this campaign wears on
Ruben Dias was bullish about the club’s chances versus Juventus but the game has become a must-win clash
Ruben Dias was bullish about the club’s chances versus Juventus but the game has become a must-win clash
The 53-year-old had signed his new contract but admitted to Garcia that ‘to rest I think would be good for me’, while knowing a rest is just not possible. He is committed to the rebuild, penning the two-year extension in part because City require surgery, yet discussed ‘energy’ or the lack thereof. ‘But right now no (rest),’ he said. ‘Right now I’m here.’
These have been the toughest weeks of Guardiola’s stellar career as he offered insight into what lonely nights are like up in that penthouse apartment near Manchester cathedral.
‘The pain of defeat only happens to one (person),’ he added.
‘It’s true that your friends are there, but when you go to sleep and turn off the light, there’s no consolation possible. You have to swallow it. Why did I do this? Did I do it wrong? Did I not push them enough? Did I make a bad decision?’
A gruff Guardiola did two things for the first time on Tuesday. He moved the dial away from City’s injury crisis and he bemoaned individual mistakes that are killing their momentum in matches. Kyle Walker’s fingerprints smudged all over Crystal Palace’s two goals at the weekend; the farcical 3-3 draw with Feyenoord was pockmarked by errors.
‘We punish ourselves in many games,’ Guardiola said.
‘What will save us is the way we play. The mistakes are consequences of not playing in the way we have to. The way we have to play is so simple.
‘Our strength in this success was we ran like a desperate team when we didn’t have the ball. We don’t have the ball and with the ball, it’s about being incredibly patient. Now we are in a moment that we attack so quick and we do a lot of things not in the right tempo that we lose the ball and have a lot of transitions.’
Unusually, Guardiola has directed some of the blame back on his players as he bemoaned individual performances
Unusually, Guardiola has directed some of the blame back on his players as he bemoaned individual performances
And – even for a great philosopher of modern football – the message is clear. Back to basics.
‘Do the simple things better. After that, you will get the confidence because you cannot imagine how you regain the confidence when you make an extra thousand million passes. We (are) adjusting some things mentally now on how to do it.
‘I don’t ask for actions like from Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi. They have to do what they are good at.
‘And it is from here, even if it’s at the bottom… from here we are going to build.’
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