Haaland's four shots were ineffective, West Ham United had one shot and scored one goal, drawing 1-1 with Manchester City. Guardiola faces a serious bottleneck and should resign.

At 4 a.m. Beijing time on March 15, in the 30th round of the Premier League, relegation-threatened West Ham United hosted title-chasing Manchester City.

In the first half, Malmus intentionally committed a handball and received a yellow card, then assisted B. Silva's angled chip shot to break the deadlock. Donnarumma made a mistake in defending a corner kick, and former Arsenal player Mavropanos headed in to equalize, resulting in a 1-1 halftime draw. In the second half, Gueye missed a good opportunity, and neither team managed to score further.

Ultimately, West Ham United drew 1-1 with Manchester City, each team taking one point. West Ham United moved out of the relegation zone after playing first, while Manchester City fell nine points behind the top team Arsenal, effectively dropping out of the title race early.

In the West Ham United vs. Manchester City match, Nuno deployed a 3421 formation, with Castellanos as the forward, supported by Bowen and Barrow. Wan-Bissaka, Soucek, Matheus, and Diop formed the four midfielders, while Todibo, Mavropanos, and Disasi composed the three defenders, with Hermansen as goalkeeper. The starting lineup's value was 246 million euros.Guardiola set up a 4132 formation, with Malmus and Haaland as the dual strikers, supported by O'Reilly, B. Silva, and Semedo behind them. Rodri played as the sole defensive midfielder. Nouri, Gueye, Husanov, and Nunes formed the four defenders, with Donnarumma as goalkeeper. The starting lineup's value was 707 million euros.

Under Guardiola's management, Manchester City ended last season without any major trophies. This season, they have already been eliminated early from both the Champions League and the Premier League title race. In the Champions League quarter-finals away match, they suffered a 0-3 defeat to a depleted Real Madrid squad. Haaland recorded zero stats in that game—not even a single shot attempt, and as a tall center forward, he surprisingly failed to win any aerial duels. In this Premier League round against relegation-threatened West Ham United, Haaland once again demonstrated that his 200-million-euro valuation is largely inflated. He had four shots in the match, tying with O'Reilly for the highest number in the game, but as the most expensive center forward, he was ineffective and received a low post-match rating of only 6.5. In stark contrast, West Ham United managed only one shot throughout the game yet secured a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at home. Guardiola's reliance on Haaland has become problematic. Since the departure of two technically skilled players, De Bruyne and Alvarez, Manchester City's attacking creativity has vanished entirely, leading to a significant decline in performance. Guardiola and Manchester City have reached a serious bottleneck. In fact, the club should have changed managers earlier but delayed for a season, resulting in the team falling behind in both the Premier League and Champions League title races. If Haaland can be sold for a good price, it should be done sooner! The "monster" simply cannot perform in tough and crucial matches; he can only add flourish when things are going well but cannot provide rescue in difficult situations.

Throughout the match,West Ham United had only 29% possession, with a total of one shot, of which one was on target; Manchester City wildly attempted 24 shots, with six on target.In such a match where dominance did not translate into victory, Guardiola is responsible. A center forward like Haaland, who lacks physical presence and aerial ability, cannot effectively partner with anyone—whether it was Semedo in the previous match or Malmus in this one. Perhaps a formation without a traditional striker would suit Manchester City better, as it would allow more movement and interplay. If Guardiola insists on using Haaland, then the team should firmly adopt counter-attacking tactics. The "monster" is incompatible with possession-based play and strategies for breaking down packed defenses.