Table of Contents
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has blamed Erling Haaland’s teammates for the striker’s unexpected goal drought and has backed the Norway star to keep scoring "for the rest of his life."
Haaland has netted just one goal in his last nine games — and that was a penalty. Before that, he’d scored 38 goals in 28 matches in all competitions in what he described as the best form of his career.
Asked what was behind his recent problems in front of goal, Guardiola said it was "the team."
"Create more chances. Then, he will score," Guardiola said Tuesday. "Never underestimate the strikers, the goal-scorers, because always they will make you silent.
"He will score for the rest of his life, that’s for sure."
City looking to avoid playoffs
City might need Haaland to rediscover his early-season sharpness in Wednesday’s Champions League home match against Galatasaray.
The English team likely requires a win to stand a chance of finishing in the top eight and qualify directly to the round of 16 without the need for a playoff like last season.
Galatasaray’s side should include former City players Ilkay Gundogan — the captain of Guardiola’s treble-winning team from 2022-23 — and Leroy Sane.
City made things difficult for itself by losing surprisingly to Bodø/Glimt last week to drop to 11th place in the 36-team standings.
"It’s where we deserve [to be]," said Guardiola, who is without a number of key players for the match. Rodri is suspended, center backs Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones are injured, and January signings Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi are ineligible at this stage of the competition.
Nico Gonzalez has missed the last five games because of injury but could return if he comes through training on Tuesday. That would be a huge boost to Guardiola, who is otherwise without a specialist defensive midfielder.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
What did you think of this story?
share
recommended
Fulham Reportedly Submit $38M Offer For USA Striker Ricardo Pepi
Why Erling Haaland Was Dropped From Manchester City's Starting Lineup
Wrexham Climbs Into Championship Playoff Spot After Dramatic Win
2026 Grammy Awards Odds: Who Will Win Album of the Year, Best New Artist?
Julian Alvarez To Arsenal? World Cup Winner Linked With Premier League Return
No World Cup For Grealish? Everton Rules Out England Winger For At Least Two Months
With Casemiro's Exit, Who Could Manchester United Bring In To Replace Him?
After Liverpool-to-Real Madrid Move, Is Trent Alexander-Arnold Already On The Outs?
Arrow pointing to the leftArrow pointing to the right
Item 1 of 3 
Get more from the English Premier League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic 
Erling Haaland 
Man. City 
English Premier League
NEXT STORY
Premier League Winners: Complete list of champions by year
recommended
Fulham Reportedly Submit $38M Offer For USA Striker Ricardo Pepi
Why Erling Haaland Was Dropped From Manchester City's Starting Lineup
Wrexham Climbs Into Championship Playoff Spot After Dramatic Win
2026 Grammy Awards Odds: Who Will Win Album of the Year, Best New Artist?
Julian Alvarez To Arsenal? World Cup Winner Linked With Premier League Return
No World Cup For Grealish? Everton Rules Out England Winger For At Least Two Months
With Casemiro's Exit, Who Could Manchester United Bring In To Replace Him?
After Liverpool-to-Real Madrid Move, Is Trent Alexander-Arnold Already On The Outs?
Arrow pointing to the leftArrow pointing to the right
Item 1 of 3Original Article
