Will Haaland help Manchester City finally reach the Champions League? What will the line-up look like with him?

Manchester City are finally bringing in a top striker. And not just any sniper, Erling Haaland will be the Citizens’ new sniper. So is this the final piece to Guardiola’s jigsaw, will he now finally lead his team to the Champions League of his dreams?

Practically since last season, when Sergio Agüero started to slowly disappear from the Citizens’ lineup, Guardiola started to bet on the option of a lineup without a spike striker. The role of the false nine has been filled by either Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, sometimes even Kevin De Bruyne.

It hasn’t been a big problem in the Premier League, the Citizens have dominated 3 of the last 4 seasons, they have a decent chance this year. It’s just that in the Champions League, the absence of a reliable killer is often the reason why they suffer.

Just remember the Champions League quarter-final the season before last, when Citizens wasted an incredible number of chances against Lyon, Sterling for example missed a completely empty goal. In last year’s final, Manchester couldn’t find a recipe for a solid Chelsea defence.

In the current edition, they crashed out in the semi-final against Real Madrid, while in the first home game they had chances to score 8 goals. Even in the rematch, the Citizens had a couple of opportunities to end the match, but failed to do so and Real then turned the semifinal around. If Guardiola had a reliable sharpshooter in his squad, everything could have been different.

That’s why Erling Haaland is coming in. The man to change everything. And a footballer who loves the Champions League. In 19 games in the millionaire competition, he scored 23 goals and added three assists. Back in Salzburg, he even said he loved the Champions League jingle so much that he set it as his morning alarm clock. The Citizens could not have picked a more suitable reinforcement for their dream Champions League triumph.

And what could the Citizens’ offensive vehicle look like with Haaland? Assuming no one else comes or goes, Guardiola would have a huge attacking force at his disposal.

B. Silva – De Bruyne
Gündogan

Mahrez – Haaland – Foden
Sterling – Jesus – Grealish

If even with that kind of reinforcements, the Citizens couldn’t reach the Champions League title, it would really be a thought.

Source: Transfermarkt