NOW GUARDIOLA HAS A NEW WEAPON IN HIS ARMOURY...

‘ERLING HAALAND will give Pep Guardiola a weapon he hasn’t had before,’ says The Mail on Sunday columnist Danny Murphy.

Manchester City often played without a traditional striker, instead using a ‘false nine’ to drop deep to dominate possession. Haaland likes to run in behind defences, not something City often exploit.

HAALAND’s runs will give City a chance to play a killer pass even against the deepest defences. City dropped points home and away against Spurs, Palace and Southampton last season, who all sat back and City struggled to break them down. The passes received map (below) in the goalless draw with Southampton show that of their 768 touches, only 30 were in the box.

NOT all of his runs, however, are behind high lines.

His goal against Hertha Berlin

(below) shows him running in behind a deep defence. This will be a key weapon for Guardiola.