Pep Guardiola once advised experts to be cautious when criticizing strikers like Erling Haaland. According to the Manchester City coach, as long as they score another goal, "people will be silent". However, recently, Haaland has made everyone silent without constantly scoring.
In the past year, the Norwegian striker has evolved into a more comprehensive striker, becoming a more terrifying threat to every defense and a strategic card in Man City's ambition to win the quadruple.
The period when Haaland mainly operated in the penalty area, waiting for Kevin De Bruyne's passes or taking advantage of off-ball situations is over.
Currently, his assisting ability is close to his already superior scoring instinct. Haaland has three assists in the last 4 matches in the Premier League. This season, only Bruno Fernandes has more assists than him in the highest league in England.
Haaland's 7 assists are only one less than his personal record in the 2022-2023 season, while the Premier League still has 11 rounds ahead.
The cross for Nico O'Reilly to score the second goal in the victory against Newcastle United made a strong impression. That was a technical handling and tactical vision often seen in Bernardo Silva or Rayan Cherki rather than a typical center forward.
That goal helped Man City continue to closely follow Arsenal in the championship race. But Haaland's contribution did not stop at an assist.
He won 12 tackles - the highest number in a match in his career. At the same time, Haaland also had the most clearances on City's side and touched the ball 43 times, his most in a Premier League match.
From a scoring machine, Haaland is gradually becoming the operating center in Guardiola's playing style - more comprehensive, more persistent and more dangerous than ever.
Although the performance against Newcastle made many people really realize Haaland's comprehensive progress, it was not the first time he showed a new face this season.
Right from the beginning of the season, Haaland took on additional responsibility when Guardiola awarded him the captain's armband - a rare decision when he was only 25 years old. Since then, the Norwegian striker has shown the image of a true leader, playing for the team more than ever.
Haaland started the season explosively with 19 goals in the first 15 matches, causing the media to focus mainly on scoring efficiency. However, behind those impressive numbers is a change in the way he participates in the overall play.
In the 3-0 victory over Manchester United in the derby in September last year, Haaland not only scored a double but also had six clearances in his own penalty area. This is a less noticeable detail than his 2 goals.
A similar scenario occurred in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at the end of that month. Haaland scored the opening goal and was the one who started the attack from his own half with a pass to Tijjani Reijnders, before this player coordinated and finished into the goal.
When Man City was ahead, they actively retreated deep to defend to restrain pressure from Arsenal. Haaland played an important role in the pressing and long-range defense system. He actively put pressure, stealing the ball from Mikel Merino near the penalty area, creating conditions for Reijnders to shoot towards David Raya.
Guardiola then substituted Haaland off the field, replacing Nico Gonzalez in the middle of the second half - a cautious decision but in line with tactical intentions. However, Gabriel Martinelli's late equalizer made the plan incomplete.
Although the result was not as desired, Haaland has well fulfilled his tactical role in controlling Arsenal's play. He is no longer simply a penalty area killer, but is becoming a strategic link in both attack and defense of Man City.
