Erling Haaland benefiting from Manchester City’s more pacy direct approach

Following on from the trials and tribulations that Manchester City and manager Pep Guardiola faced in the 2024/25 campaign, it is shaping up to be quite the interesting season at the Etihad Stadium this year.

It was a big summer for Guardiola and not only did the first-team squad see plenty of incomings and outgoings as the 54-year-old Catalan coach looked to shake things up, rebuild his available options, and bring the average age of the group down, we also saw slight tactical tweaks as he moved away from his preferred ethos and style of play.

With 11 games played in the Premier League season, key striker Erling Haaland is absolutely benefiting from those tweaks with his current phenomenal scoring record and with seven wins and a draw, the club are just four points shy of top spot and sat in second place.

With a joint league best 15+ goal difference, the Champions League campaign is also going pretty swimmingly well with 10 points secured from three wins and a draw, and much of the early season success has been down to Erling Haaland’s rich vein of form in front of the net.

The 25-year-old Norwegian international hotshot is a favourite for punters and Fantasy Football players as his goal return is akin to a trusted UK live casino site with verified payouts that you can rely on.

He opened the campaign with a brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers and to date, he has actually only failed to score in two games so far across all competitions – including international matches – and he has already scored 28 times in 18 matches.

His last goal came in the weekend’s clash with Arne Slot’s Liverpool side and in taking a 3-0 victory on home soil, it marked Pep Guardiola’s 1000th game in the dug out in his long and successful managerial career, and Haaland’s opener was very much in the style of Manchester City of old as opposed to the slightly more direct approach we have now adopted.

City have not lost their belief in possession, but they are moving the ball quicker offensively and there is far more movement from the players in general.

Last season, seven teams ran more than Manchester City in the top flight and averaged 109.8km per 90 minutes – that has already increased by 5.5km per game so far this season – and in the Liverpool clash, Pep Guardiola’s charges ran almost nine kilometres more than the opposition.

The sprints per match statistic is also up this year as Manchester City have registered 22 more than last term, so clearly this has been a focus for Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff on the training pitch.

Out-running opponents during a game is becoming a consistent part of City’s approach to matches, and they have clocked up more than eight kilometres more than their opponents in three games so far this season – Wolverhampton Wanderers (9.7km), Liverpool (8.8km) and Bournemouth (8.2km).

It may have been an element of their performances that fans have missed slightly as they focus on how the team are retaining possession and attacking with a slightly more direct approach, but it has undoubtedly been a big reason behind why it has been such a good start to the season and it demonstrates how subtly the style of play has been tweaked and changed this year.