As Manchester City deals with a wave of injuries, they’re unable to rest key players as often as they’d like.
Pep Guardiola brushed off concerns about Erling Haaland needing a break after a video surfaced showing Haaland appearing to hold his shin in training. He quickly smiled at Phil Foden and carried on, leaving fans wondering if it was just a joke or a brief issue. Guardiola downplayed the incident, calling it media overreaction, and Haaland went on to play a full 90 minutes in City’s tough loss to Sporting.
The match didn’t go as planned. Haaland had several chances but was either unlucky or thwarted by solid goalkeeping—and even the crossbar. His recent performance mirrored his showing against Bournemouth, where he struggled in another off-day for the team. Though Haaland has often been City’s game-changer over the past two seasons, luck hasn’t been on his side this week.
Despite a recent dip, Haaland has still scored 14 goals in 14 games, with City relying heavily on his contributions. Guardiola made it clear Haaland is not the problem. Although Haaland’s goal rate has slowed, he’s still adding value, scoring five goals in his last 10 games—a decent haul for most strikers, even if lower than his typical output.
Since his last goal—a scrambling effort against Southampton—he’s taken 17 shots, eight of them on target, but has underperformed his expected goals (xG) by 4.46 over games against Sporting, Bournemouth, and Southampton. His missed penalty, which smashed the bar, epitomized his recent frustration. After the Sporting game, Haaland was visibly annoyed, going straight to the tunnel, disappointed by another blank and another loss.
Is it due to overplaying? Possibly. Guardiola has made efforts to manage his minutes, not subbing him in against Tottenham to save him for Bournemouth. But asked about resting Haaland, Guardiola joked: “I don’t think so. Maybe during international games he can rest…” Knowing Haaland has no plans to sit out for Norway, Guardiola remains cautious about his workload.
Ideally, City would have secured comfortable wins, allowing for in-game rest for Haaland. It’s a catch-22: had he converted his chances, City might have won and he’d have earned some rest. Now, with three losses in a row, City needs him more than ever to help them break out of this rut, and he’s set to start against Brighton unless there’s a genuine injury.
Looking at the season as a whole, Haaland’s current goals tally is right in line with his xG, even if his scoring has slowed. His return to form alone won’t solve all of City’s issues, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.
