Gael Clichy believes the return of Erling Haaland has had a negative impact on Julian Alvarez for Manchester City.
The Argentina international has had a great season overall, but just lately he has come in for a little bit of criticism on social media for lacking an impact playing as an attacking midfielder.
Alvarez has dropped back since Erling Haaland came back into the starting XI after an injury lay-off.
While Haaland was out, Alvarez was playing really well leading the line, with the brilliant Phil Foden operating just behind him.
But former City full-back Clichy reckons the World Cup winner is now struggling a little bit thanks to his teammate’s return…
Gael Clichy believes Julian Alvarez has been negatively impacted by Erling Haaland returning for Manchester City
Alvarez has probably been one of the top five performers this season for City.
Pep Guardiola has counted on him a lot – before Saturday’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth, he had started every single Premier League game for City, which is remarkable for a forward player.
But Clichy believes the 24-year-old has not been helped recently by Haaland coming back in as the central striker.
He said on Monday Night Football: “Something that is really interesting is that since the return of Haaland, you kind of see a little bit less of Alvarez. You see him dropping zones where Pep wants him to be.
“It’s a bit like when Haaland wasn’t here, he carried the team. Now Pep seems not to be able to take him out of the team.
“But I feel having him and Haaland together on the pitch at the same time, somehow the team is still performing, but not as good as they could. That’s my feeling, I wouldn’t call it a weakness.
“I think there is something to go for Pep, and trying to find the right balance. I do feel Alvarez is, not getting frustrated, but you can see his body language, he’s not touching the ball and is not as involved as before. I would class this, not as a weakness, but as something that could affect Man City.”
Clichy is right
It is actually hard to argue against this from Clichy, with Alvarez now being forced to operate a little deeper due to Haaland being back up top.
Haaland returned for City against Burnley in January and has scored three goals in the Premier League since coming back. Alvarez got two goals in that game against Burnley, but had played as a striker with Haaland starting on the bench before making his comeback in the final stages.
Since that match, Alvarez hasn’t scored in the Premier League and has provided one assist against Brentford.
This season, £14 million star Alvarez has been at his very best when he’s played through the middle with Phil Foden in behind him. The pair were looking like David Silva and Sergio Aguero at times, as they combined brilliantly in the final third.
With Haaland back now, that connection isn’t prominent anymore, with Alvarez having played very deep in recent matches.
