Pep Guardiola revealed the reason why Manchester City star Erling Haaland failed to deliver in the club’s derby defeat against Manchester United.
- Guardiola explains Haaland’s dip in form
- Manchester United beat Manchester City
- Haaland has not scored in last three games
WHAT HAPPENED? After scoring a hat-trick in his first-ever Manchester derby back in October, Haaland had an underwhelming outing when the two rivals met again on Saturday. He hardly had an impact upfront as Manchester City went down 1-2 against their rivals. While Guardiola admitted that the Norwegian needs to be more effective, especially when teams fall back and defend, he is confident that the striker would adapt to their system.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to reporters Guardiola said: “At the moment we have that process because when teams are sat in their 18-yard box, it is more difficult but we have to find him a little bit more, yes. (Against United) he had enough touches but it’s true that when you are looking at areas and you have to look at him. But we will do it.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Haaland has now gone three straight games without scoring a goal and while that should not ring too many alarm bells, it represents a dip in form for a player who scored 27 times in his first 21 appearances for the club.
WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY? Guardiola’s men next take on Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League tie on Thursday. A win could help them reduce the gap with league leaders Arsenal who currently have a resounding 10-point lead at the top.
Source: Goal
