Julian Alvarez gave a definite display of courage during the Qatar World Cup with the Argentine team. The 23-year-old striker’s career had been taking leaps and bounds, but his contribution to lifting the third World Cup was essential. However, the statistics of his stay in the Manchester City after that event are striking and the questions are focused on why Joseph Guardiola It does not give him more time on the court.

The 1-1 against Leipzig for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 ended the debate. The Catalan DT did not make any changes throughout the game and when the journalists asked him about that determination, he expressed his anger. “I have the possibility of making substitutions because they are the rules of the game; but I am a very good coach to decide if I have to make substitutions or not”, he shot at a press conference.

He Spider He was one of the athletes who watched the entire process from the bench, reinforcing a trend since he returned to City after the World Cup: he was substitute in 9 of 15 gamesjust entered in 5 and to top it all off two of those occasions were to play injury time. In return, he paid with two goals the four starters that Pep gave him.

The question that was installed almost like a no-brainer is why Guardiola doesn’t give him more space after what was done in Qatar. “It’s quite simple actually. Julián Álvarez is an excellent soccer player, the City hold him in high regard even before winning the World Cup, but Haaland beats him”, summarizes the journalist San Lee, who covers the day to day of the side celeste Manchester for the middle The Athletic.

The specialist, in an analysis collected by the newspaper Branddetails: “Guardiola’s search for balance is quite complicated to explain briefly but, ultimately, Pep wants to get the right mix of players like Haaland, Foden, De Bruyne and Álvarez, who are the ones who make football more directy Grealish, Mahrez, Gundogan and Bernardo, those who play a more touch game”.

“Guardiola wants more control than direct football this season and that means Haaland and De Bruyne usually play. When Álvarez has started in the Premier is when Kevin De Bruyne has not played. But, essentially, Haaland is the first option and De Bruyne is a key part and the one who accompanies him. It may seem strange that a world champion does not play much, but you have to look at it this way: Foden, a City squad player and an excellent player, will not make the team either. It is about what the team needs, not about the reputation of the player, ”he summed up.

Specifically in the clash against Leipzig, Sam Lee stressed that the only “realistic” options that Guardiola had on the bench to modify the process of the match were Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Álvarez. “In truth, neither was realistic because Phillips is not seen ready to play and Foden and Álvarez are too direct for what Guardiola wanted”, contrasted the chronicler. That is to say, the former River competes with Haaland, De Bruyne and Foden: the most sought after scorer, the team leader and the promise called to mark an era in the club.

Guardiola clarified that he was “satisfied” with what his team was doing in this Champions League clash and even acknowledged that he was evaluating putting Foden in: “Then, immediately, we took the game back into our hands and with this control… because they play with six up, with a 2-2, full-backs as full-backs, four players, incredible corridors and with the transitions and the way you play you have to have a lot of control”.

That “control” role is associated with what Gundogan or Mahrez could do: “We have extra passes and that’s what we need, especially in the first leg. Maybe in the second leg I’ll decide to go crazy and play with nine forwards and come and go. We don’t have the team to compete with them in transitions, they are better than us, they are getting faster, except for Kyle and Erling.

Lee separates the squad between those who “they know when to stop the game” (Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez and Grealish) and those he identifies as “more direct” (Haaland, Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Julian). Placing Foden against Leipzig would not have “solved any problem because he wanted more passes to slow down the game,” said the analyst in this case.

Some time ago, the specialist devoted to the life of Manchester City had affirmed that Guardiola was behind the idea of accommodate Haaland in the team “without breaking the false system of nine” That has worked for him in recent seasons. There he had already warned that for the DT there are two groups: those who manage the game pace (he added Rodri’s name to this list at that time) and the “unbalancing” (João Cancelo, today at Bayern Munich, was in this role).

Lee assured at that time that Pep always focused on “find the right balance” both in Bayern Munich and Barcelona. “City are basically trying to play with the same level of control as in the last two seasons, despite the fact that their ‘extra man’ is now terrorizing defenders instead of linking the game in midfield,” he had expressed in that analysis. Those definitions had been given before the World Cup, so Julián’s last name still did not carry enough weight to discuss more minutes at City.

The truth is that Álvarez accumulated 29 appearances since he arrived in Manchester and added 9 goals among all the competitions. Not insignificant numbers if one takes into account that it was 12-time starter. Álvarez, who scored 4 goals in 5 starts during the World Cup, will seek to continue hammering his place at City with performances: next Saturday he will visit Bournemouth for the Premier League and three days later he will face Bristol City for the FA Cup.

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