Haaland's poor performance hurts Guardiola, tough schedule gets a setback, Manchester City 0-3 Real Madrid difficult to reverse

Can you imagine? Six teams competed in the Champions League quarter-finals, but the Premier League had no wins in the first leg. Among them, Manchester City faced a depleted Real Madrid and suffered a 0-3 defeat, making a comeback very difficult. Guardiola also bears the consequences, overly relying on Haaland in the forward position and choosing to sell Alvarez. In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Haaland had 0 shots, 0 dribbles, and 0 successful aerial duels, once again continuing his poor performance of disappearing in crucial matches; meanwhile, Alvarez contributed with 2 shots and 1 assist, creating 3 goals, helping Atletico Madrid beat Tottenham 5-2. Manchester City has not won against Tottenham in the Premier League this season, with 1 draw and 1 loss in both home and away matches.

Haaland's poor form and tendency to disappear in tough matches once again hurt Guardiola, as Manchester City's tough seven-match schedule suffered a setback. Manchester City faces relegation-threatened West Ham United in the Premier League this weekend, followed by the Champions League quarter-finals second leg against Real Madrid next week, trailing by three goals—should they fight or not? Guardiola faces a dilemma. After the two matches against Real Madrid, there's the League Cup final, where Manchester City competes with Arsenal for the title; then the FA Cup quarter-finals against Liverpool, and the last two matches of the tough schedule are Premier League clashes against Chelsea and Arsenal in the big six battles.

Real Madrid's setback, even with a depleted squad, hopefully wakes Guardiola completely. If Guardiola continues to rely on Haaland in crucial matches and tough battles, Manchester City will increasingly face seasons without major trophies, perhaps De Bruyne's presence largely masks Haaland's shortcomings. Haaland, as a 1.95-meter tall center forward, against Real Madrid had 0 successful aerial duels, 0 dribbles, 0 key passes, and 0 shots on target. Haaland seemingly started on the field, but in reality, Manchester City was playing with one less player. As a center forward, Haaland lacks aerial skills, back-to-goal ball control, ball carrying, and dribbling abilities—only his long legs are useful in counterattacks. In fact, Haaland is not suited to Manchester City's possession-based tactics; using Haaland in tough matches might be worse than using a false nine, pairing Marmoush and Semedo would at least provide movement and penetration. Haaland's presence negatively affects many Manchester City forwards' performance—this is not alarmist, as multiple key matches prove Haaland is severely overrated. Haaland could become Manchester City's biggest offensive weakness in the post-De Bruyne era.