When Man City traveled to Leeds on Wednesday night, Guardiola was confident that Erling Haaland will not give in to Jesse Marsch’s attempts to win him over with his charming personality.
Before their meeting at Elland Road, Leeds manager Marsch, who previously supervised Haaland at Red Bull Salzburg, gushed over the City striker, which prompted a sardonic response from City manager Guardiola. The Spaniard expressed his hope that Erling would not be influenced by the opponent’s flattering comments, saying, “Hopefully, Erling will not be polluted by the kind words.”
“Just like us, they want to come out on top. They will compete aggressively, and the game will not be played in a nice spirit. However, Guardiola’s primary concern is not whether Haaland will be dissuaded by Marsch’s pre-match adulation; rather, it is whether he will be able to maintain his star striker healthy for the duration of the season.
According to Guardiola, Haaland is still dealing with the aftereffects of the foot injury he sustained in October when playing against his previous club, Borussia Dortmund. The injury occurred when Haaland was competing against Borussia Dortmund. Although the striker scored in City’s 3-2 EFL Cup win against Liverpool, bringing his total for the season to 24, Guardiola revealed that he is still having to manage his foot issue and substituted him out after 73 minutes. This brought the striker’s season total to 24 goals.
Regarding Haaland’s problem, Guardiola stated that the ailment is very different from the one that he experienced during the previous campaign. When we faced Dortmund in the Champions League, he took a blow to the foot in Dortmund, which led to the injury. According to the physician, he tore some ligaments in his foot, which explains why it hurts so much. Because it is not simple to recuperate, he had a lot of trouble doing so.
However, things have really improved since then. At this point, all that can be done is wait. We cannot function without him, and I have faith that he will be prepared. He is exhibiting signs of improvement on a daily basis. It is possible for him to exercise, and he will improve his condition as a result.
According to Guardiola, “one of the toughest games” is playing against Leeds. In that situation, after the World Cup, I would have loved to play against a different opponent than Leeds.
According to the statistics, they are the most aggressive side in the Premier League. They don’t allow you much time to think, and you have to be extremely exact and on such a high level in order to succeed.
Julian Alvarez, who plays forward for Manchester City and was a key contributor to Argentina’s World Cup victory in Qatar, is claimed to have come back to the champions a more well-rounded player.
According to Guardiola, “Julian does not need to play a World Cup or win it for us to know exactly how he is as a player.” This statement was made in reference to the World Cup. “At the age that he is, it is utterly unfathomable for him to be a world champion. Because of his time spent in Argentina, he will be a better player when he returns.
“That is wonderful news for us, and from there on out, we will wait and see what the next day brings.” However, it is essential to have him available given the number of games that are being played and the fact that there have been injuries.
“To have lived this experience, to play under pressure in quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final – one game determines whether you’re in or you’re out – these types of games, what an experience for him,”