Considering the number of senior players that missed the club’s pre-season tour, it would not have come as a surprise if Manchester City had a few hiccups at the start of the campaign.
Pep Guardiola would have been surprised to witness how sharp his City side have looked against both Chelsea and Ipswich Town.
It seems like the Manchester City players were always determined to start the season with a bang rather than taking their time to settle into the 2024/2025 campaign.
There seem to be no signs of complacency from the Sky Blues cohort at the Etihad Stadium.
In their latest 4-1 win against Ipswich, the English giants perhaps put in a display that could rival any team’s so far this season.
While Chelsea annihilated Wolves 6-2 as well, the hosts had quite a few opportunities to make the game a closer affair as well.
However, City well and truly pulverized Kieran McKenna’s side in a way not many teams might this season.
Micah Richards shares how it must feel to play against Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland would be overjoyed to see that his teammates seem incredibly determined to win their fifth Premier League title in succession.
Haaland, who is already leading the goalscoring charts with four goals in two league games seems to have benefited from the long summer break he was afforded during Euro 2024.
Pep Guardiola revealed that Haaland is “sharper” than last season when several knocks he suffered meant he constantly had niggles in his hip, ankle and knees.
But as the £51 million man seems set to have yet another extraordinary season, Micah Richards explained why it must be such a nuisance for defenders to go toe-to-toe against him.
The pundit on The Rest Is Football podcast: “You know what’s so annoying for defences though, imagine playing against [Erling] Haaland and we talked about [Harry] Kane in the summer at the Euros where he would come and join in with play.”
“Haaland is not interested about getting involved. So when you play against him as a centre-half, you’re constantly running in behind, having to check your shoulder.”
Haaland makes life hell more defenders in a way other strikers do not
Due to Haaland being seemingly self-aware of his strengths and weaknesses as a player, he tends to focus on the former; which include being an outlet, staying close to the box, using his pace and strength and prioritising goalscoring over everything else.
As a result, unlike other strikers such as Harry Kane and Alexander Isak, who like to get involved in the team’s build-up play, the 24-year-old occupies defences at all times.
With that being the case, even if Haaland is uninvolved during games, defenders are aware that if they lose focus, he could punish them.
Whereas the likes of Kane and Isak, who are known for having terrific technique perhaps vacate a traditional number nine’s position to get on the ball.
As Micah Richards explained, Haaland must be a nightmare for any defender to face.
