Pep Guardiola delivers crucial verdict on Erling Haaland’s on-field frustrations during Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig clashes

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked about Erling Haaland’s on-pitch frustrations in his side’s recent draws with Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig.

The Premier League champions are set to face Bournemouth in a return to league action after being halted to a 1-1 draw by RB Leipzig in the opening leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie in midweek.

City remain two points behind league leaders Arsenal after playing out a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, with the Gunners having a game in hand over the Blues ahead of a trip to Leicester on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola and his side will be keen to return to winning ways at the Vitality Stadium after throwing away a one-goal lead twice in the past week.

Bernardo Silva’s first-half stunner was cancelled by Chris Wood at the City Ground last week before Josko Gvardiol cancelled Riyad Mahrez’s opener in Leipzig on Wednesday evening.

City have failed to kick on from a crucial 3-1 triumph away at the Emirates Stadium last week, with back-to-back draws causing frustration amongst the fanbase and their man up top, Erling Haaland.

Despite having racked up staggering scoring numbers in his debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium, Haaland is believed to have expressed his frustration for failing to be spotted by his teammates when he has made an attacking run on several occasions this term.

The Norwegian, who joined Manchester City in a £51 million switch from Borussia Dortmund last summer, has netted 32 times in as many appearances across all competitions in sky blue.

After putting City’s win over Arsenal to bed last week with a well-taken finish, the young forward has failed to score in successive outings against Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on the extent of Haaland’s in-game frustrations on not being played through by his City teammates as much as he’d like – when he does make an enticing run.

“In the last game (against RB Leipzig), you are right (Haaland didn’t touch the ball enough) but against Nottingham (Forest) – no,” Guardiola said on Friday afternoon.

“So don’t make one game like a theory because he (Haaland) had the chances at Nottingham in the first and the second half. But of course, we have to and will improve.

“We talked about that many times and it’s going to happen. Striker is the most difficult position in the world, because they have two players just focus(ing) on him and now for Erling, they have an extra more.”

Haaland is one strike away from beating Sergio Aguero’s best-ever scoring tally (26) in a Premier League campaign, having netted as many times as the Argentine legend in just 23 league outings this term.

However, the spotlight has often been on Haaland when the Norway international has looked less involved in City’s play, with the Blues operating with an out-and-out striker after playing largely in a false-nine system for two seasons.

❌ Arsenal
❌ Nottingham Forest
✅ RB Leipzig

Pep Guardiola says the Erling Haaland frustrations in recent games has only been apparent in one game. 🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/EmJFdRDZTa

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 24, 2023

Guardiola added: “It’s not easy to do that. I would like to see, in my period here, the strikers that we had like Sergio (Aguero), Gabriel (Jesus) – when we play a proper striker, not false nine or a different way, how many balls do they touch?

“So I don’t know, I don’t have the statistics but always our (play) is not have the ball (to the) striker, have the ball striker, have the ball striker. It happened against Arsenal because Arsenal go man-to-man, you should play more long balls.

“So, our process is more and the final action is there. But even with that, we have to – all the time – (keep) one eye (on) where is he (Haaland), where is he? Lately in the last game (against Leipzig), I would agree with you – we didn’t, I said more control, more passes than usual.”

However, despite his explanation around the way City operate with Haaland contrary to how they have managed in the absence of a natural striker in the last two seasons, Guardiola certainly understands Haaland’s on-pitch frustrations.

“Of course it’s fine (if Haaland is frustrated),” the Catalan said. “I am frustrated too, you are frustrated too in your life sometimes, isn’t it? It happens. Happiness is overestimated!

“It’s our fault – not Erling’s (Haaland). Erling has been impressive all season. It’s not metrics, I don’t need metrics. When I finish the game, one second later I know if he was involved or not and who should be involved more or not. I don’t need numbers or metrics, I know exactly.”

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☑️ Kevin De Bruyne
🚫 Aymeric Laporte

Pep Guardiola's full #ManCity fitness update ahead of Bournemouth (A) this weekend:

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) February 24, 2023

On whether it is an issue to involve Haaland to a greater degree in games, Guardiola added: “Yes of course, it depends on us – not on him. He moves well, we need to take a look at him a little bit more.”

A return to the scoresheet for Haaland on Saturday would further silence the former Borussia Dortmund forward’s critics, with the Leeds-born man well on course to break the record scoring tally in a Premier League campaign.