Erling Haaland has only had one manager at Manchester City. He was signed by Pep Guardiola in 2022 and Pep built a whole system around him and he became the most lethal striker in the league.
That partnership is now over four years later. Guardiola has gone, Enzo Maresca has come in and the question every fan is debating right now is simple.
Does Haaland even need Guardiola anymore, or was the manager the reason he looked unbeatable?
Credit: Man City via X
The Numbers Don’t Lie, But They Might Not Repeat
Haaland scored 27 league goals last season in the league to win his third Golden Boot in four years, 38 across all competitions, with City scoring 129 goals as a team. Those are video game stats.
But they came in a set up Guardiola spent years specifically honing around him, with service, spacing and buildup play all designed to get the ball to Haaland in the exact spots he wanted it.
Now that architect is gone and it’s another question entirely
There’s No Certainty With Maresca
Maresca was Guardiola’s own assistant, so City is clearly betting on continuity of idea rather than a full rebuild.
But idea is sometimes different from execution and Maresca is inheriting a squad that has just lost Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and John Stones in one summer, with serious questions still hanging over Rodri’s future as well.
There’s an obvious vacuum in the team that the new signings might not be able to fill effectively at first
Why This Might Actually Get Ugly
City finished second last season with Guardiola still in the building, pushed all the way to the final week of the title race and then got blown out 3-0 by Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League, their heaviest defeat of the campaign.
If there were cracks with Guardiola still in place, what is going to happen without him?
Haaland is the best pure finisher in the league no doubt about it. But even the best strikers need to be served, and if Maresca doesn’t feed him like Guardiola’s system did, the numbers can slip away quickly.
Strikers are judged on goals not effort and the City fans don’t have much time for a slow start.
The Case for Banking on Haaland Regardless
In contrast, Haaland is still one of the most talented strikers in the world. His track record with former clubs like Dortmund and Salzburg and also national team numbers with Norway has proven he doesn’t need one manager to excel
Maybe the questions might have been answered by October and Haaland has ten goals in six games like he usually does.
Or maybe this is the season that will reveal how much of his brilliance at Man City reliant on Guardiola’s setup
Man City will take on Bournemouth at the Ethiad Stadium in their opening game of the 2026/2026 Premier League season
