Erling Haaland (23) was unusually poor on Saturday evening. He vented his frustration a little on a camera
It’s not unusual for Erling Haaland to be the center of attention after games – but on Saturday evening after his Manchester City’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea, it was different than usual: the Norwegian made the headlines not with goals, but rather with missed chances.
Despite his nine shots on goal and an expected goals value of 1.71, the 23-year-old did not turn up to celebrate – the lowest value in his time with the Sky Blues. “We create the chances, he had the chances and in the next game he will score. That’s soccer, he’s human,” Pep Guardiola backed his protégé at the press conference.
Haaland misses three great chances
Three finishes in particular are likely to have haunted Haaland after the match: Firstly, his two headed chances in the twelfth and 78th minute, where he twice headed over the goal from around five meters out of position, and secondly, a volley shortly after the break (51st minute). His frustration at his unusual lack of chances became clear a few seconds after the final whistle: when a camera came towards him, he batted it away with his right hand.
Guardiola will certainly talk to the attacker about the missed opportunities, but he won’t give him any tips. “I was a footballer and played for eleven years and scored eleven goals. One goal per season. That’s my statistic,” said the 53-year-old and continued: “So I’m not the right person to give the striker advice and tell him what to do.”
Haaland doesn’t have much time to mope, as he has a catch-up game against Brentford coming up on Tuesday (8.30pm). With a win, the Citizens can at least reclaim second place from Arsenal and close the gap on Liverpool to one point. It would not be surprising if Haaland played a big part in such a scenario and made the headlines again – but then again in a positive way
