Damning stat sums up Erling Haaland’s struggles for Man City

Perhaps Erling Haaland’s father needs to change his lasagna recipe.

When the burly Norwegian barrelled through the English top flight right from a brace on his Premier League debut, he put his prolific form down to the pasta dish his dad cooked up before each gameday. Following a run of three hat-tricks in as many consecutive Premier League appearances at the Etihad Stadium, Haaland quipped: “That’s turning out fairly well every game.”

The days of those unrelenting trebles seem to belong to a bygone era. Haaland failed to score in his fourth straight outing, watching his tame penalty saved as City were held to a limp 1-1 draw with Everton in the first game on Boxing Day.

Haaland’s wayward spot kick was the 11th ‘big chance’ which he has failed to convert over the previous three months – more than any other Premier League player over the same time period, per WhoScored.

Haaland is no stranger to squandered opportunities. City’s number nine topped the division’s ‘big chances missed’ charts in each of the previous two seasons. After fumbling a particularly glorious opening in the first Manchester derby of 2024, Haaland said: “People say I’m good at scoring goals but I missed the biggest chance in the world ever.”

However, for every blunder, there was a burst of successful strikes. That has not been the case of late.

During this particularly wasteful run of form – which has seen City win just four of their last 13 Premier League matches – Haaland has netted a measly three goals. 27 different players have outscored the world’s most fearsome striker, including Manchester City’s left-back Josko Gvardiol. Even the exiled Marcus Rashford can match Haaland’s tally of three league goals in the last three months.

Haaland blamed himself after last weekend’s loss to Aston Villa. Pep Guardiola defended his misfiring forward but pointed to his squad’s lack of a clinical edge once again on Thursday afternoon. “The performance against that team was really good offensively and defensively,” City’s increasingly beleaguered boss declared. “We shot a lot inside the 18-yard box, but unfortunately couldn’t get the result we wanted.”

Manuel Akanji wasn’t so optimistic and all but ruled City out of the title race. “The season is not finished but it’s not a target for us at the moment,” the Swiss centre-back sighed. For Haaland, the target is simply about getting back on the scoresheet.

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