Pep's one-man team: City's 'addiction' to Haaland that needs to be overcome without delay

Even though he's coached football giants like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, etc, Pep Guardiola's crews have never been so-called "one-man teams."

The power in the Spaniards' clubs has always been distributed among several players, as Pep could always count on other team members to step up. However, his current Man City squad may be as dependent on a single player as it gets.

Who can fill Vinicius’s boots – Haaland, maybe?

It could even be stated that the Cityzens are addicted to Erling Haaland - or, better said, to his goals.

Namely, out of 23 goals the Etihad crew scored in the Premier League (17) and Champions League (6), the Norwegian netted 15, or over 65%!

In the EPL, Haaland bagged 11 goals, his teammates - Matheus Nunes, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, and Tijjani Reijnders - added just four, while two goals were own goals (interestingly, both scored by Burnley's Maxime Esteve in City's 5-1 triumph).

Considering the elite European club competition, the situation is even more worrying for Pep and dismal for his men (except for Haaland). Namely, the Citizens scored two goals each against Napoli, Monaco, and Villarreal, four of which were the striker's doing. The remaining two came over Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva.

The only competition in which the Norwegian's teammates "shone" was the EFL Cup, as Foden and Savinho found the net in a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield - in a game in which Haaland didn't even play.

In the end, the 25-year-old's outstanding form can undoubtedly please City's fans and Guardiola. However, the team's over-reliance on him can be a massive problem, especially if he - God forbid - suffers an injury.

Therefore, the Citizens need a quick rehabilitation, as "getting clean" from Haaland and waking up the rest of the crew should be Pep's primary task.