Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will need more time to begin firing on all cylinders, despite scoring on his pre-season debut in a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, manager Pep Guardiola said on Saturday.
Haaland, who joined the Premier League champions on a five-year contract last month, got on the end of a Jack Grealish cross and fired home from close range after just 12 minutes to secure victory over the Bundesliga side at Lambeau Field here.
Guardiola praised the 22-year-old’s poacher instinct but said the Norwegian needed to be handled carefully to aid his return to full fitness.
“He scored a goal, which is important. These type of goals in front of the goalkeeper — always he’s there,” Guardiola said. “The first minutes, he needs more rhythm and time but already he had 45 minutes which is good for him.
“We’ll see how he reacts to the niggles that he had in the previous weeks. After we come back we have long weeks to prepare every weekend game. In those two or three weeks we will get the best form.”
Tuchel worried
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he was worried about his team’s progress and concerned by his players’ lack of commitment after they slipped to a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga scored in a comfortable win at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.
“We were simply not competitive,” Tuchel told reporters.
“The worrying part is that the level of commitment physically and mentally for this match was far higher for Arsenal than for us.”
Chelsea beat Mexican side Club America and lost to Major League Soccer team Charlotte FC on penalties in their previous pre-season friendlies in the US.