Elling Holland was reportedly playing through a nagging injury.
The British ‘Daily Mail’ reported on March 3 (Korean time), “Holland has already scored 11 goals in all Premier League (PL) matches this season.
Pep Guardiola has had injury problems with Holland but believes they have now been resolved,” and recently reported that Holland was playing with a nagging injury, much like Son Heung-min in September.
Up until the end of September, Holland seemed to be building on his monster performance from last season. He had eight goals and two assists in his first eight official games of the season.
It seemed like a no-brainer that Holland would win the top scorer award again this season.
The gap between him and the runner-up quickly widened.
However, Holland hasn’t found the back of the net since October.
He went scoreless against Wolverhampton, RB Leipzig, and Arsenal.
Without their top scorer, City didn’t look like the champions they are.
The defeats to Wolverhampton and Arsenal only marginally increased the gap between them and Tottenham.
It doesn’t change the fact that Holland is one of the best strikers in the world.
His 2023 Ballon d’Or runner-up finish is proof of that.
However, Holland’s value as a player is very much diminished when he doesn’t score goals.
His lack of versatility means that he can’t be much more than a goal scorer.
He doesn’t have the ability to utilize his teammates like Harry Kane or Karim Benzema, and his strengths are often overshadowed when he drops to the second line.
Despite the criticisms levied at him, Holland has silenced them since the end of October. 안전토토사이트
Starting with a goal against Brighton, followed by two goals against the Young Boys and a goal and an assist against Manchester United, he has five goals and one assist in three games.
Holland’s resurgence in scoring has reopened the gap between him and the likes of Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah.
The reason for Holland’s resurgence was injury. Initially, Holland was playing through an injury and was not performing well at the time.
Once he recovered, he was back in monster mode.
“I think he’s healthy now, he was annoying at times, but it’s the complete opposite, I don’t feel there’s a problem,” Guardiola said.
If Holland’s goal-scoring form picks up, it will be hard for Son Heung-min to overtake him as the top scorer. To top it off, Heung-min will have to participate in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in January.
