'It's about us, not just one player': Pep Guardiola backs Erling Haaland as Man City aims to overcome slump
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Dec 24, 2024, 9:13 PM ISTPep Guardiola has dismissed suggestions that Manchester City’s recent slump can be attributed to a single player, coming to the defense of star striker Erling Haaland ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Everton.
Pep Guardiola has dismissed suggestions that Manchester City’s recent slump can be attributed to a single player, coming to the defense of star striker Erling Haaland ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Everton.
City suffered their ninth defeat in 12 matches across all competitions with a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday. Haaland, who has been a prolific scorer since joining the club in 2022, failed to find the net for the fifth time in six games, prompting criticism of the Norwegian forward.
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After the defeat, Haaland acknowledged his own shortcomings, telling TNT Sports: “First I’m looking at myself. I haven’t been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven’t been good enough.”
However, Guardiola was quick to defend his striker, who has scored 108 goals for City. “Without him, we will be even worse,” the manager said. “He needs to be delivered the right balls in the right spots.”
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Christmas Eve, Guardiola emphasized that the team’s current struggles go beyond one player. “It’s about us, not just one player,” he stated. “When in the past we scored goals and Erling was so prolific, helping us, it was because of the team. And when you have problems at the back, in the middle, it is for everyone. It’s not about one player. It would be easy if it was just one player causing the issue, but it’s not about that.”
🚨🔵 Pep Guardiola backs Erling Haaland: “For sure Erling is so important for us, he will be so important for us”.
“We'll try to do things better to use him better. It’s one of our missions now”. pic.twitter.com/PQtOe02FDK
“Erling is so important for us, will be so important for us, has been. (We have to) try to do things better, to use him better," Guardiola added.
"In this situation, this tendency for all of us (is to say) ‘the reason why is this one, and this one and this one’. It’s about us, about everyone," he said.
Guardiola also highlighted the collective responsibility of the squad, noting that the players are giving maximum effort despite the challenges. “The guys are running, making effort more than ever. All the tendency ‘it’s because we don’t run, because we don’t fight, the reason why is this situation or this player or this manager’… It’s not about that," he said.
The City boss admitted that “many little details or big details” have contributed to the team’s dip in form but remains optimistic about turning things around. “We have another opportunity on Boxing Day,” Guardiola added.
City will look to end their poor run of form when they host Everton at the Etihad Stadium, with fans eager to see whether Guardiola’s faith in Haaland and the team can lead to a resurgence.
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