Prison isn’t exactly one place that Erling Haaland imagined he might be just months into his Manchester City tenure – although Pep Guardiola says his performance against Bournemouth was close, such was the space afforded to him.
The Norwegian superstar had just eight touches of the ball against the Cherries at the Etihad Stadium last week with defenders limiting him to just inches of the ball as City ran riot in a 4-0 win.
Of course, the more defenders on Haaland, the more space there was for other stars such as Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden to display their brilliance and tear Scott Parker’s side apart.
But whilst Guardiola had more plans for Haaland to become more involved in the future, he likened Haaland’s performance to being in jail due to Bournemouth’s defensive nature.
“I was on the touchline and it looked like there was no space for him because Bournemouth were so deep. It was like being in a jail,” said Guardiola via the Daily Mail.
“But there are spaces and that is why he needs a little time to realise the right tempo and see the movement he has to do, and the connection with the other players.
“We have to realise we need to do it quicker when we face teams like that. The top quality strikers have to move in the smaller spaces, that is why it is the most difficult position.”
Haaland takes on Newcastle on Sunday afternoon in a bid to expand on his tally of two goals in two Premier League games.
With the Magpies likely to be a tad more adventurous than Bournemouth, space may open up for Haaland to play his game more.
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