by Manchester City dropped two points against Chelsea in a complicated match, where Guardiola’s men had great difficulty blocking their rival’s counterattacks and breaking the visitors’ defensive wall. In that context, With Pochettino’s men closing with practically all their players inside the area, Erling Haaland was expected more than ever. The Norwegian had chances, but his scoring statistic remained at zero.
With so many defenses in front of them, City had to look for millimeter combinations inside the area, crosses, second plays and the occasional long shot. Haaland occupied a pure ‘9’ position, as his heat map shows, standing almost all the time inside the small area to look for those shots that are so characteristic of him.
Haaland vs. Chelsea calorie map /couch score
The City striker accumulated a 1.71 expected goals (xG), with up to nine shots (two on goal, five off and two blocked). In total he missed three clear chances, especially with headers inside the area. Haaland won the game against Chelsea’s centre-backs in the air, but he failed to direct the ball on goal.
To put this data in context, in the last game against Everton, Haaland scored two goals in four shots, despite only accumulating 0.68 expected goals. A strange game for the Norwegian, which however is not the usual trend in his performances.. A bad day for the best ‘9’ in the world.
