Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to blame striker Erling Haaland for his unusually stuttering form in front of goal.
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Manchester City have lost five in a rowGuardiola says Haaland not to blameTeam would be even worse without strikerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Guardiola has seen his team lose five games in a row in all competitions as the Catalan suffers the worst run of his entire managerial career. The results have left City already eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool in the table and down in 10th place in the Champions League standings ahead of the next round of fixtures.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Guardiola has spoken about his team's problems ahead of City's next game against Feyenoord in the Champions League. The City boss has refused to lay any blame at Haaland's feet, insisting matters would be even worse for his team if they did not have in the Norway international at the Etihad Stadium. Haaland hasn't been at his very prolific best this season but has still managed 12 goals in 12 Premier League games for the champions and three in four in the Champions League.
WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID
He told reporters: "We have four or five wingers, but we only had one. Phil was excellent in that position but he's struggled early with niggles and little things. Kevin has been injured. That is the reality and we have to adapt. I would say the reason for our lack of goals is not Erling Haaland. Without Erling, we would be more in trouble! We are lucky to have Erling. Every game, he has three or four chances. One day he scores two or three."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY
All eyes will be on City on Tuesday to see if they can snap their losing streak at home to Feyenoord. After that it's a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool in a huge Premier League clash.
