Erling Haaland left visibly frustrated after rare, wasteful display for Manchester City
By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — Manchester City star Erling Haaland produced an uncharacteristic performance on Saturday, as the striker missed a plethora of chances in his team’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
Soccer fans have become accustomed to Haaland, arguably the best goal-scorer in the world, converting almost all of his chances in recent seasons, but the 23-year-old seemed to struggle in his latest English Premier League performance.
In total, Haaland took nine shots during the game against Chelsea – the highest number of attempts without scoring that the striker has taken since joining Manchester City in 2022.
His chances included three golden opportunities to score, including a glaring header from close range in the second-half which the forward blazed over the bar.
City teammate Rodri was able to somewhat spare Haaland’s blushes by rescuing a point for the league champion, his late effort canceling out Raheem Sterling’s opener for Chelsea.
Haaland, though, had enough chances to win the match and was visibly angry with himself at full-time, pulling his shirt over his head and pushing a camera out of his face as he made his way off the pitch.
“Next time he’s going to score,” City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters after the game, unconcerned about his striker’s performance.
“I was a football player and I played 11 years and scored 11 goals. One goal a season. These are my stats. So I’m not a proper man to give advice about the striker and what they have to do.
“We create the chances, he had the chances and in the next game he is going to score […] It’s football, he’s a human being.”
According to the Premier League, the striker has missed the most “big chances” in the league this season (21), a record he shares with Liverpool forward Darwin Núnez.
Haaland is still the league’s top scorer, though, with 16 goals in 19 appearances.
Last season, Haaland broke a number of scoring records as he helped Manchester City win the league, Champions League and FA Cup.
This year, City faces a real challenge for the league title and slipped down to third in the table after dropping points against Chelsea.
Arsenal sits one point ahead in second having played an extra game, with Liverpool four points ahead on top, also having played one more game than City.
Haaland will have a chance to get back on the scoresheet on Tuesday as Manchester City host Brentford in the league.
The-CNN-Wire
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