Manchester City Must Get Haaland More Involved In Games – Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City must find a way to get Erling Haaland more involved in their play.

The Norway striker was a out of form in Saturday 2-1 premier league defeat to Manchester United , having only a couple of half-chances and just 19 touches in the match.

Haaland has now gone three games without a goal – hardly a crisis, particularly as he was only a second-half substitute at Southampton, but a dip by the standards of a player who had 27 in his first 21 outings.

But more noticeable has been the impact Haaland has had on City’s system after they became so accustomed to – and so successful at – operating with a false nine in the past two seasons.

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Guardiola is unlikely to agree with that but he is still working to fully integrate his £51m summer signing.

“At the moment we have that process because when teams are sat in their 18-yard box, it is more difficult but we have to find him a little bit more, yes,” Guardiola said.

“(Against United) he had enough touches but it’s true that when you are looking at areas and you have to look at him. But we will do it.”

City have struggled for consistency this season, particularly since the World Cup, drawing at home to Everton on New Year’s Day and now suffering back-to-back defeats against Southampton in the Carabao Cup and Man Utd in the league.

But Guardiola said such inconsistencies were not down to the change in system that Haaland’s arrival has enforced.

“I would say the inconsistency was in terms of results but not performances,” he said. “In general, (but) not against Southampton, we were consistent in our games.