No goals, no assists, no shots, no successful dribbles, no chances created, no interceptions... and 19 passes. These are extremely bad statistics, even for a defender.
It may seem unbelievable, but these are Erling Haaland's numbers in his last 3 games for Manchester City. And in all 3 of those games, The Citizens lost, respectively to Juventus, Man United and Aston Villa.
"I didn't do everything right. I didn't get the chance so I have to do better. I have to look in the mirror. It's mostly my fault, I wasn't good enough. Obviously, our confidence isn't at its best, but we have to keep going and keep a positive attitude, even when it's difficult," the Norwegian striker said after the defeat at Villa Park.
Man City's crisis - they have suffered nine defeats and two draws in their last 12 games - has been largely explained by Haaland's poor numbers, with the Norwegian's decline largely linked to the absence of Rodri and De Bruyne.
Remember, Haaland had an impressive start to the campaign this year, scoring 10 goals in his first five Premier League games. Since then, he has only scored three goals in 12 games. In fact, Mohamed Salah has beaten Haaland to become the Premier League's top scorer with two more goals.
However, coach Pep Guardiola disagreed when Haaland took responsibility for himself: "I don't agree. Without Haaland, we would be even worse. I like the players to criticize themselves. That's the only way to improve.
Haaland is trying everything he can, but we are not giving him the right balls. We have to give him better balls."
However, the expected goals (xG) figure suggests that Haaland should have scored more than his current 18 goals in all competitions. Man City’s attacking play is now heavily reliant on passing to Haaland, despite the Norwegian having very few touches. And when Haaland fails to score, alongside the lacklustre wingers, Man City’s goal tally drops significantly.
Haaland has scored a total of 108 goals in 122 games since joining the Etihad in 2022. The Norwegian striker also won the Premier League Golden Boot in the last two seasons.
