Julian Alvarez: Rising Star at Manchester City and Haaland’s Supporting Role

– It has resulted in Haaland having a completely average start to the season, although it is absurd to say.

This is what football expert Petter Veland says to Nettavisen. He refers to the fact that the Norwegian striker has only scored eight goals so far this autumn and has had increasingly tough working conditions in the fight against stoppers, who are keen on taming what many believe is the world’s best player.

Haaland is still top scorer in the Premier League, but has been without net knowledge since the league match against Nottingham Forest. On Wednesday, he went off the field goalless in the Champions League match away to Germany’s RB Leipzig.

The 23-year-old from Jæren is now scoreless in the last five Champions League matches he has been involved in.

Veland believes the opponents are now doing everything in their power to stop Haaland, after what the goalscorer showed last season (53 goals in 52 games).

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– The opponents pay more attention to Haaland, take him out, and give him less room to frolic, he believes.

– Guardiola has envisioned it

The expert, who, among other things, has in-depth knowledge of Spanish football, and is well aware of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s thinking, believes, however, that the tactician long ago predicted that exactly that would happen this season.

– It goes hand in glove with everything Guardiola has done as a football coach in the last 14 years. If he wasn’t a coach, he would wake up every morning with 72 scenarios of things he should do, says Veland.

– It’s Pep in a nutshell and I’m not surprised. He has already envisioned it in his genius football mind. After what City delivered last season, and Haaland scored as many goals as we haven’t seen since Dixie Dean, Guardiola understands that the obvious thing for the opponents will be to take out the big star. It was and still is Erling Haaland, he believes.

This can again open the way for other players to find their place in the limelight and this autumn, Haaland’s striker colleague, Julian Alvarez, has been allowed to shine.

– If the opponents spend a few extra percent on taking out the best players, then the working conditions for others will be better.

Alvarez, who last season largely played second fiddle to Haaland, despite 17 goals in total for the light blues, has recently really stood out as an important piece in Guardiola’s crew. Against RB Leipzig, he came on and was absolutely central in securing three points.

– Alvarez can thank Haaland

Also in the previous series round, where Haaland was tamed by Wolves’ Craig Dawson, it was Alvarez who found his way to the back of the net.

Veland believes all the focus on Haaland last season has given the Argentine the chance to warm up in the City jersey.

– I think Alvarez can thank Haaland for the development he has had. Not necessarily because of what Haaland has taught him, but all the focus that has been on Haaland, so that Alvarez has been able to develop in peace and quiet, says the expert.

– Until now, only the Argentine media have seen the greatness of Alvarez. Everything was about Haaland, but that boy Alvarez is insanely good at playing football, and he is only getting better and better, says Veland about the man with six goals this autumn.

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Veland is not the only one who has noticed that the dynamic of City’s attacking play has changed recently.

Journalist James Ducker i The Telegraph addresses precisely this team in a chronicle for the big newspaper.

– Just like Wolves, RB Leipzig did a solid job of keeping Haaland away from the goal, writes Ducker.

– What more and more opponents are finding out now, however, is that when the big man is not at his best, the reigning champions can rely much more on his little helper to take over the main role, he writes further.

– Not satisfied with supporting role

Until 84 minutes had been played in Leipzig on Wednesday evening, it was 1-1 between the teams. Phil Foden had given City the lead, but Loïs Openda ensured balance in the accounts just after the break. It went towards a draw, but in the 79th minute Alvarez came on.

After only a few minutes on the mat, the Argentine provided a new City-. management, before he, in collaboration with Haaland in particular, set up newcomer Jéremy Doku. Alvarez’s pass to the Belgian was perfect and alone with the goalkeeper, the new man did everything right.

– Twice Leipzig were undressed by the brilliant Argentine.

What could have ended in a somewhat disappointing draw was instead a very important victory for the light blues.

– While Haaland squandered his chances and was below par, City could be grateful that Alvarez was far cooler-headed.

– This was Alvarez’s sixth goal in what looks to be a very promising season for him. It has been made resoundingly clear that Alvarez is not satisfied with just playing a supporting role behind Haaland. It is clear that he is becoming a key player, Ducker believes.

City manager Pep Guardiola, who stated earlier this season that Alvarez is now becoming “impossible to leave out of the team”, was also unable to hide his excitement at what the 1.70m tall 23-year-old showed him on Wednesday night .

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– Listen, when a player is world champion, it is because he is a good player. It was an excellent score, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen it. The influence he had after he came in was enormous, says a far from surprised Guardiola.

Played almost as much as Haaland

Julian Alvarez was signed by City on 31 January 2022, the same day he turned 22. He remained at River Plate for the rest of that season.

The Premier League club is said to have paid 23 million euros – around 264 million Norwegian kroner – to secure the attacker.

The Argentine made his debut for the light blues in the Community Shield match against Liverpool on 30 July, the same match in which Haaland also made his debut. But while the Norwegian went on to score 53 goals in 52 games, Alvarez had to settle for 17 spot-kicks.

Although he made 37 Premier League appearances last season, he came on as a substitute in 18 of those and played a total of 1,452 minutes of league football. In the Champions League, he was substituted in six out of ten games and was on the pitch for 468 minutes.

In comparison, Haaland played 2,777 minutes in the Premier League and 846 minutes in the Champions League in the same period.

So far in the 23/24 season, the number of minutes on the pitch for the two City strikers is at a much closer level. Haaland has so far played 620 minutes in the Premier League and 180 minutes in the Champions League, Alvarez has 597 and 101 minutes in the same tournaments.

2023-10-05 16:15:48
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