Quote from: Docnaster on Today at 05:08:30 PM

Quote from: KTChampions on Today at 01:16:57 PM

Quote from: rendravolt on Today at 12:21:58 PM

It is true that in important matches such as the semifinals or the Champions League final last season, Erling Haaland seemed to disappear on the field and his role as the pillar of the team at that time was immediately replaced by other Manchester City players who had freer opportunities to score goals. I don't think it's a problem as long as the team can use every player available and actually I'm quite annoyed because Pep Guardiola very rarely changes his players in the second half. So when they should have had the opportunity to score goals through supersub players, they still relied on the players who were there from the early minutes.

It's not a problem at all because before Haaland came to City they had won the Premier League by more points than last season and despite Liverpool being only one point behind, their title looked undeniable. Haaland is an option (very cool option) but I think he is much less important than the KDB, so I'm looking forward to a more competitive season this time around.

Kelvin is more important in the Manchester City squad than Haaland. Manchester City is used to build the strength of their squad around a midfielder rather a striker. If you check some seasons ago it was Yaya Toure who was the strength of the team and presently it is KDB who is the strength of the team. Manchester City has been scoring high amount of goals without Haaland. Haaland is just an additional striking strength.

Haaland is far more than an additional striking strength. When Haaland plays the other team has to dedicate defensive capabilities to stop him, which impacts the team as a whole. Having a really strong striker within your line-up is more impactful than just having this striker. An opponent is forced to think about it and come up with a match plan that includes this striker of course.

But the discussion whether De Bruyne is more important or Haaland, I think that also depends. There will be days when Haaland scores that one goal needed for the win and there have been days when De Bruyne scored it, like against Real Madrid in the Champions League. But one thing is for sure and that is De Bruyne's injury is among the worst issues that Manchester City could now have.