The development of one Manchester City player is a positive to take from this season | OneFootball

It doesn’t appear that there have been many positives to take from this season for Manchester City. Attention has primarily been focused on the decline of Pep Guardiola’s side. But amidst that, there are positives to take from a trying 24/25 season for the world champions. The development of Erling Haaland is a major one. Haaland’s continued evolution as a player has been overlooked but it has stood out on occasions. It was on display during City’s heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid last Tuesday.

Erling Haaland hasn’t been perfect this season. That has to be said. He did go through a spell earlier this season when he squandered a host of chances. But that is the life of a striker. It can happen. The fact that Haaland has scored 27 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions this season is still an astounding figure. But the fact that Haaland’s goal scoring is overlooked means that this statistic is often not appreciated. But back to the point at hand, you can see that Haaland’s game is evolving.

It stood out on Tuesday night against Real Madrid that Erling Haaland’s overall game is evolving. He had more impact on the game in its entirety besides the brace he scored. Haaland put himself about in a challenge and was eager to link up play up front. We have seen this more often this season from Haaland. Yes, there are still games when he is on the periphery of the contest, and his lack of touches is highlighted. But that is becoming less frequent. Against Real, Haaland showed another side to his game. The challenge is for Haaland to make his performance against Carlo Ancelotti’s side the standard for him going forward. If he can he will become an even more frightening proposition for City’s opponents.

Erling Haaland’s game has evolved this season and continues to do so. That is one major positive for Manchester City in a season that feels like there haven’t been many. If his evolution continues Haaland will be crucial in City’s chase for Champions League football and beyond. Haaland’s evolution is something to take from this season for Manchester City and it is a positive sign for what lies ahead considering Haaland signed a 9 and a half year contract extension not all that long ago.