Haaland imagines loosing the Premier League title in his debut season
Manchester City star Erling Haaland took the Premier League by storm as he finished as the highest scorer in his first season. His goals helped the Sky Blues win their third consecutive league title, beating competitors Arsenal from a very difficult position, who, for the most part, looked to be in position to clinch their first league title since 2003-2004. However, the star forward has revealed that he imagined losing the title race in his first season with the club.
The City forward ended up helping the club win a treble last season. While Haaland had a massive role to play, he felt the pressure while they trailed behind the Gunners.
Erling Haaland felt uneasy when Arsenal was leading the title race last season
‘You had me in the first half’ was the feeling that the Manchester City star forward had last season. At one moment, last season, it looked like Mikel Arteta-led Arsenal would win the title. However, in the end, with the experience of Pep Guardiola at the helm, the Sky Blues managed to retain the league title. Before the team started turning things around, Erling Haaland did have some negative thoughts in his mind. Speaking on the tough situation last season, he said, “We were behind for 248 days or something, so there was pressure there. If I came in and we didn’t win the Premier League it would have been like: ‘You came in and destroyed everything!”
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‘One of the best’… Phil Foden says he actually used to closely study player Man City let go in 2020
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Phil Foden has admitted that he used to study how David Silva used to play even when they played together at Manchester City.
Since the Englishman has broken into City’s first-team, he has been compared to the Spaniard due to having a similar playing style to him.
It seemed like Phil Foden was always destined to emerge as the long-term successor to the retired maestro’s throne at the Etihad Stadium.
Phil Foden says he used to study David Silva when they played together
This season, the 23-year-old has often operated in a position that the World Cup winner used to, which is as a left-sided midfielder for Pep Guardiola’s men, contributing both in advanced and deeper areas of the pitch.
Phil Foden has now revealed that he used to study how David Silva used to play, even when he was in the senior team with him.
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“Even when David [Silva] was here and I was training and playing alongside him, I studied what he was doing and watched what he did and how he did it”, he said as part of the February edition of the club’s official digital magazine.
“He was one of the best players I ever played with and he was also one of the best at unlocking low block defences. He could receive the ball in tight spaces and find the right passes at the right time and because I’ve moved more centrally lately, I’ve been allowed to do those sort of things – more so than when I’m out on the wing so, hopefully, I can keep having opportunities to play there and keep learning because I think there is so much I can still give in that role.”
Phil Foden should continue to study how the Spanish legend used to play
In our view, Phil Foden should continue to study how David Silva used to play by tuning into games he played for both club and country during his career.
One crucial reason why Foden should do so is because the former Valencia midfielder is the most stylistically similar player he will find to himself, who has also managed to play under Guardiola.
In addition, much like Foden, Silva too was tasked to play both in midfield and out wide for both City and Spain.
However, the four-time Premier League winner’s performances never really experienced a dip, regardless of wherever he was played on the pitch.
Phil Foden, who seems much more of a natural midfielder should analyse how David Silva managed to remain equally impactful from either flank in his spare time.
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