Manchester City face a number of difficult fixtures in January, so Julian Alvarez’s return from the World Cup gives Pep Guardiola more options.
Manchester City will need Julian Alvarez for their daunting January fixture list, with Pep Guardiola open to the possibility of playing him in a front two alongside Erling Haaland.
Alvarez returned from the World Cup ahead of schedule to be included in City’s squad against Everton, and the World Cup winner was brought off the bench for around 15 minutes as the Blues searched for a winner, where he played alongside Erling Haaland in a front two.
Guardiola was asked after the game whether Alvarez’s return as a World Champion could lead to more opportunities to play a deliberate front two, and the City boss didn’t rule out the possibility.
“In the last minutes, after 1-1, we put him in the centre of goal in the box. That is why he played,” Guardiola explained. “He only rested 10 days, which is not much after the World Cup final.
“It can happen [Haaland and Alvarez playing together]. The ball arrives there [in the box] and you have two strikers there so you can score a goal. But to create these chances we have to make the process and sometimes for that you need other types of players to create these chances.
“If I had the feeling we were creating these chances, and you have two or three in the box, that is top. But maybe you are there with Haaland and all the processes aren’t correct and we have a lot of people up front, we have more transitions and after we have a problem. But of course they can play together – especially against five at the back.”
City’s draw with Everton was compounded by Arsenal’s win at Brighton which extended their lead to seven points at the top of the Premier League. City now have back-to-back clashes with Chelsea in the league and cup, before a derby against Manchester United, and also two clashes with Tottenham in the next month.
Alvarez’s return will help navigate that schedule, and Guardiola insisted City will go to those games unfazed, despite their Everton setback.
“Listen, you play all the teams,” he said. “We try to improve and get better. We go there to win the games.”
Source: manchestereveningnews.com
