Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham made a telling comment regarding the way his side plays compared to Manchester City, which, under careful analysis, ultimately points to the challenge Pep Guardiola seems to be having with getting the best out of Erling Haaland, writes Lukhanyo Mtuta.
The tall centre-forward has been the subject of growing criticism due to his failure to make an impact in some big games this season. His reputation as a lethal marksman is unquestionable, but there is now a burgeoning struggle by the player to have a meaningful impact in perhaps the most important ties this term.
Since the turn of 2024, Haaland has fired blanks against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Real across two legs in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Some have even pointed out that in some of these so-called big matches, the centre-forward has taken fewer touches and fewer shots on goal, strolling on the pitch, posing very little danger to opposition defenders.
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With City being knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday by Real, Haaland has again come under the microscope, especially after Guardiola admitted that he asked to be substituted off before extra-time.
"Erling and Kevin [De Bruyne] asked me to go out, like Manu [Akanji], they could not continue," the City boss said after the game, according to The Evening Standard. "The game we were playing was amazing and I am not a big fan of making a lot of substitutions, but Kevin, Erling and Manu asked me to go out."
While De Bruyne's case may have been down to fatigue given he has been dealing with fitness issues of late, it is almost strange that the Catalan boss gave in to Haaland's request to be subbed off despite City pushing for a goal.
What cannot be avoided is that the striker has not been playing well and certainly did not do so across both legs against Antonio Rudiger. Worryingly, he appears less confident than he was during the treble-winning 2022/23 season, which perhaps signals a lack of desire for involvement in play.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Bellingham noted that his side's strength was that their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, allows them to play with much more freedom compared to City, who are stricter in their approach and stick to the system enforced by their boss.
When asked by Rio Ferdinand what Ancelotti is like as a manager, Bellingham replied: "As a man, he just fills you with calmness and confidence. Before the game, I caught him [Ancelotti] yawning and asked him, 'Boss, are you tired?'. He said 'You need to go out there and excite me' – that's the calmness and confidence he brings. He finds a way to let a lot of the boys play with freedom. One of our biggest strengths is that we're so off-the-cuff."
In stark contrast to the Guardiola approach, this statement by Bellingham is perhaps a tell-tale sign of what's wrong with Haaland of late. Guardiola's strategy is often so rigid, and many have described it as robotic.
Haaland finds himself having to stand in isolation with opposition center-backs for long periods in a game, while his teammates seemingly overplay as we saw against Real, where they often passed the ball side to side hoping for small gaps to appear in order to penetrate the resolute Los Blancos defence.
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It would be figuratively blasphemous to criticise Guardiola's tactics as a manager given his accomplishments, but what is becoming increasingly clear to this scribe is that it does not always get the best out of all players, and that is something that is beginning to manifest in Haaland.
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