Former Manchester City midfielder Didi Hamann has declared the Sky Blues were a "better team" before signing Erling Haaland in a withering verdict on the out-of-sorts striker.
City fell to a painful 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday afternoon in what was another blow to their Premier League title ambitions. Jack Grealish came off the bench to open the scoring at Old Trafford only for Bruno Fernandes to equalise under controversial circumstances and Marcus Rashford to net the winner for the hosts.
Haaland, 22, had a quiet game by his lofty standards and he is yet to find the back of the net in 2023, also firing blank against Chelsea in the league and Southampton in the EFL Cup. The Norwegian lit up European football in the first half of the season, plundering 27 goals in all competitions, yet Hamann fears he is hampering City.
After Pep Guardiola's side were beaten in the Manchester Derby, the Liverpool hero wrote on Twitter : "Man City was a better team without Haaland, even if he scores 40 goals this season." Haaland joined City from Borussia Dortmund last summer and is in the midst of his most challenging stint at the club.
United drew plenty of praise for the way they kept the explosive hitman quiet at Old Trafford, with club legend Paul Scholes very impressed by the way he was starved of service. Speaking on BT Sport at half-time, Scholes said: " I mentioned before how important it was before the game, stopping that supply to Haaland, and I think they've [also] done really well against [Kevin] De Bruyne."
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City boss Guardiola, meanwhile, had little to say about a penalty appeal involving Haaland in the closing stages. He said: "I ask but... We missed a little bit of threat up front, a bit disconnected. We make a fantastic game. I don't care in the Premier League and Carabao Cup. We won a lot. It's not a problem. Carabao Cup is out, it doesn't matter."
City were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Southampton in midweek and their defeat at United condemned them to back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Guardiola was also aggrieved that the Red Devils' equaliser was allowed to stand, given Marcus Rashford was offside in the build-up to Bruno Fernandes' strike. The lineman's flag initially went up but a VAR check ruled Rashford did not interfere with play.
"The game was really good. We played good," the Spaniard added. "They are incredible in transitions. Congratulations to the team. I'm proud to come here and play with this personality. They punished us in transitions. [Rashford was] distracting our 'keeper and our centre-backs."
