MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola blamed Erling Haaland’s unexpected failure to score on his teammates and encouraged the Norwegian star to keep scoring “for the rest of his life.”
Haaland has scored just one goal in his last nine games, and that was a penalty. Up until then, he had scored 38 goals in 28 games in all competitions. the best form of his career.
When asked about the cause of his side’s recent problems in front of goal, Guardiola said it was the team.
“If he’s going to score, create more chances,” Guardiola said on Tuesday. “Never underestimate strikers and goal scorers because they can always shut you down.
“He’ll continue to score for the rest of his life, that’s for sure.”
City aim to avoid play-offs
City may need Haaland to rediscover his early-season sharpness when they play at home to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday.
A win is likely to be needed for the England team to have a chance of finishing in the top eight and progressing directly to the round of 16 without the need for a play-off like last season.
Galatasaray’s squad is expected to include former City players Ilkay Gundogan (captain of Guardiola’s treble-winning team in 2022-23) and Leroy Sane.
City made things difficult by losing unexpectedly. Bodo/Glimt Last week it fell to 11th place in the 36-team standings.
“This is where we should be,” said Guardiola, who will be without many key players for this game. Rodri suspended, centre-backs Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones injured, then signed in January Antoine Semenyo and mark gehi Entries are not eligible at this stage of the competition.
Nico Gonzalez has missed the last five games due to injury, but could return after training on Tuesday. That would be a big boost for Guardiola, who lacks a specialist defensive midfielder.
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