'Manchester City were better without Erling Haaland': Feels former Man City midfielder

Former Manchester City footballer Didi Hamann has heavily criticized City sensation Erling Haaland after the club’s 1-2 loss in the Manchester Derby on Saturday. City have been told that they were better without the services of the star striker following the 1-2 beating at the hands of Manchester United. Haaland joined City after a move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window of 2022.

The 22-year-old was in a stellar form before the FIFA World Cup 2022 and has already netted 21 goals in 17 Premier League 2022-23 games, and five goals in six Champions League games. However, the player is yet to score a goal since the turn of the year. At the same time, City have also struggled to find form in recent weeks and Haaland failed to get into the match on Saturday as Pep Guardiola’s lost 1-2 against United in the Derby game.

Meanwhile, the former German midfielder Didi took to his official Twitter handle on Saturday and said, “Man City was a better team without Haaland, even if he scores 40 goals this season.” This was not the first time Didi spoke about the star striker. Back in the summer of 2022, Hamaan revealed the challenges City will face after roping in the Norwegian youngster.

"It’ll be interesting to see how they play"

In a conversation with talkSPORT, “He [Guardiola] likes to play wide players or midfielders up top who like to link play – he’s good with his feet but he’s not as good as a Grealish, or a Foden, or a Sterling who have played up top. It’ll be interesting to see how they play because you’ve got to feed him, but I don’t think they’ll be able to play the way they used to play because the more direct you play, the more goals he’ll probably get you”.

“It’s fascinating because last year I said I can see him going anywhere, but not Manchester City because he’s just not a player that Pep Guardiola wants up top. He’s got him now and maybe he thinks he’s got to change to win the biggest trophy in club football, the Champions League, but how they play remains to be seen,” he added.