Guardiola Addresses Haaland’s Recent Goal Drought

Pep Guardiola has rejected claims that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has played too much football this season.

Haaland has faced a dip in performance recently, not scoring in his last four matches across all competitions. Additionally, he hasn’t netted from open play since before Christmas.

The Norwegian forward struggled to make an impact during losses to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt over the past week, prompting discussions about possible burnout.

This season, Haaland has played 2,568 minutes in total, with only 11 players in the Premier League having more playing time. After the recent Champions League loss to Bodo/Glimt, he expressed regret about his performance.

“I don’t have the answers,” Haaland told TNT Sports. “I take full responsibility for not scoring the goals I should, so I apologize to every Manchester City supporter who traveled today. I focus on doing my best whenever I’m on the pitch and know we have many games. I’m preparing for the next match.”

Guardiola was questioned about whether Haaland is being overworked this season but dismissed the concern. While addressing the media before the weekend’s match against Wolves, he stated: “Why do we revisit this topic? Nothing is going to change. In Bodo, we had 11 players unavailable. Other teams like Aston Villa and Tottenham have similar issues. It’s a lot of games, but we keep discussing this? It won’t change. Haaland has the physical capacity to cope.”

“Last week, we played in Newcastle and won 2-0. I believe we missed opportunities against Bodo, and we didn’t show enough aggression. We conceded two quick goals. We had chances like the header from Max Alleyne. I’m not discussing the United match. I didn’t feel that in the game against Bodo.”