Manchester City reshapes its combat effectiveness: building new tactics around Haaland and Malmush

February 28th, Manchester City has encountered severe tests in the Champions League and the Premier League this season. After losing to Real Madrid and Liverpool, the team's hopes of winning the championship were frustrated, and they can only shift their focus to the competition for the top four in the Premier League and the qualification for the Champions League next season. However, the recent strong performances of 4-0 victory over Newcastle and 1-0 away victory over Tottenham show that Manchester City is exploring new tactical directions. Building a lineup around Haaland and new signing Marmouche has gradually become the key to Manchester City's return to top combat effectiveness .

Guardiola has always been known for his emphasis on midfield control, but with the changes in the lineup and the adjustment of tactical needs, it is difficult to adapt to the current rhythm of the Premier League by simply relying on midfield control. Signing Malmush in the winter window has become a key step for Guardiola to break the tactical bottleneck. Malmush is not only extremely fast and can tear through the opponent's defense, but also has the ability to connect the frontcourt, which effectively improves the fluency of Manchester City's offense. His partnership with Haaland is extremely threatening, allowing Manchester City to create offensive opportunities more directly and efficiently.

Haaland was in a slump in the early stages, but as he has regained his scoring touch recently, he and Malmush have become more and more in tune with each other. This combination not only increases the chances of scoring goals, but also gradually solves the problem of Manchester City's low efficiency on the offensive end in the past. Especially in the match against Tottenham, Malmush showed his important role in the transition between offense and defense, and Guardiola began to rely more on his performance, which made Manchester City's offensive system more three-dimensional and diverse.

In the past, Guardiola's tactical system relied heavily on midfield control, but now he has begun to simplify the midfield tasks and rely more on the speed and impact of the strikers. The arrival of Malmush has provided the basis for this change. With his super speed and flexible running, he can quickly connect with Haaland and create more gaps in counterattacks.

Manchester City's offensive mode has also been optimized: the midfield no longer seeks to control the ball blindly, but focuses more on quick ball distribution and advancement, thereby reducing over-reliance on midfield control. Malmush's frontcourt connection and Haaland's finishing ability complement each other, making Manchester City's offense more threatening and diverse.

With Malmush's outstanding performance in the central midfielder position, Guardiola may gradually let Foden fade out of the starting lineup and turn to a substitute role. Foden is good at dribbling and breaking through, but is slightly lacking in team connection and control, while Malmush is more creative and can better connect the midfield and frontcourt.

In addition, as Grealish's form recovers, Guardiola may let him replace Doku in the starting lineup. Grealish is more mature in pass selection and error control, which will help improve Manchester City's offensive stability and maintain the balance of the overall formation.

By reshaping the tactical system around Haaland and Malmush, Manchester City has gradually found the direction to return to top combat effectiveness. Guardiola's tactical adjustment not only unleashed the potential of the strikers, but also simplified the midfield tasks, making the team's offense more direct and more efficient.

As the squad gradually takes shape, Manchester City is expected to achieve better results in the second half of this season and lay a solid foundation for multi-line operations next season. If they can successfully strengthen the central midfielder and full-back in the summer transfer market, Manchester City will once again have the strength to challenge various championships.