Haaland’s presence allowing City to evolve under Guardiola

The arrival of Erling Haaland has given Manchester City one of the most formidable scorers ever seen in English soccer, with his pres‐ ence enabling manager Pep Guardiola to evolve his tactical ap‐ proach in the biggest games.

Guardiola will always prefer his teams to dominate possession. "Maybe one day they will change the rules," he once said, "but I think to score a goal you need the ball."

Guardiola, however, is no longer wedded to the possession‐based philosophy that was the hallmark of his trophy‐laden time at Barcelona, as well as at Bayern Munich and City. Just look at City's most important matches this sea‐ son. In an away game at Premier League title rival Arsenal in Febru‐ ary, City had only 36% possession — the team's lowest figure in 11 years. City won 3‐1.

In the two legs against Bayern in the Champions League quarterfi‐ nals, City had 44% possession at home last week and 42% in Ger‐ many on Wednesday. City won 3‐0 then drew 1‐1 to advance to the semifinals with plenty to spare.

It's no coincidence. Guardiola, it seems, is becoming less stubborn about the soccer style for which he has become so renowned.

It could yet lead City to a first Champions League title.

"In the Champions League, we've learnt from our mistakes of the past," City midfielder Bernardo Silva said after Wednesday's game. "Before, we used to think that we needed to be 90 minutes dominat‐ ing the game, controlling in their final third.

"But in this competition, when you play against Bayern Munich, Paris Saint‐Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, you need to accept that there are times when you need to defend, be consistent, work hard to not give away easy chances and that is what we've been trying to work on. In the past, we've had a lot of frustrating nights because of that."

The impact of Haaland cannot be understated.

The Norway striker doesn't press like City's previous strikers, such as Gabriel Jesus or the latter‐ day Sergio Aguero. What he does offer, particularly in big games, is a devastating presence on the counterattack with his strength and pace.

City's goal against Bayern on Wednesday showed that. John Stones cleared the ball from near his own goal line as City narrowly averted danger from another Bay‐ ern attack, Haaland used his upper‐body strength to shrug off his marker and lay the ball off to