The Norwegian has had to adapt to new team-mates and the loss of his greatest supply line. But he is still Pep Guardiola's most lethal weapon
A few days before the Champions League final, Erling Haaland spoke to a pack of journalists at Manchester City's training ground. One brave reporter asked him about the fact that despite breaking the Premier League's single season goalscoring record with 36 strikes and being top scorer in the Champions League, he was heading to Istanbul having only scored once in his last seven appearances.
His response was disarming, a demonstration of his utterly assured yet laid back personality. "You can think of it as one goal in seven games…" he began with a tone of slight disapproval, eyebrows raised. "Or," he continued, taking a long pause while displaying the cheekiest of grins, "you can think of it as 52 goals in 52 games and eight assists. You can think of it in both ways. I’m not stressed. I feel really good."
It was a telling reminder that Haaland goal droughts have to be treated very differently to slides in form from other strikers. For every game that the Norwegian fails to score in, there are countless others in which he has found the net, often more than once, and often more than twice
Four months on from the Champions League final, Haaland is getting ready for his biggest match of the season so far, City's top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal – and his form is once more being debated after scoring just once in his last four matches.
But just like in June, he can point to his prolific record already this season, namely the fact he has scored eight goals in seven Premier League games. Should City be worried? Or is Haaland just having a little rest before embarking on his latest epic goalscoring streak?
GettyMissing in action then wasteful
Haaland last hit the net with a header against Nottingham Forest, before Rodri got sent off and City were forced to see out the remainder of the game scrapping with 10 men. Since then he has had two games with very different stories but with the same outcome: no goals.
Against Wolves he had just one attempt on goal and took only 15 touches. And he lost a battle with an unlikely formidable opponent, 33-year-old Craig Dawson. He was expected to make amends against RB Leipzig, not least because the last time he had faced the German side he had scored five goals, a joint-record in a Champions League knockout game.
Leipzig, however, learned their lesson this time and Haaland drew a blank. It was not for want of trying as he had 25 touches and took six shots. But he was uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. Four of his attempts missed the target and none of them really troubled the goalkeeper. He did at least hold the ball up well and helped substitute Jeremy Doku score the final goal in the 3-1 win.
Yet there is still a sense that Haaland is not as sharp and ruthless in his second campaign in England as he was last season. He has eight goals from nine matches in the Premier League and Champions League this term, compared with 14 goals at the same stage last year.
AdvertisementGettyLonging for De Bruyne
What has changed? For starters, the people around him. Haaland began life with City with a highly experienced cast behind him, with Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan feeding him from deep.
De Bruyne set up 13 of Haaland's 52 goals last season, including his first from open play against West Ham with a dream, defence-splitting pass in behind the lines. But the Belgian tore his hamstring in the first match against Burnley, leaving Haaland without his favourite supplier.
Gundogan was less productive than De Bruyne but equally important to City's style of play and his departure has undoubtedly affected the way Pep Guardiola's side play, which inevitably has a knock-on effect on Haaland.
City have also been stung by many other injuries affecting how they would normally play. John Stones has been injured since the Community Shield while Jack Grealish has been afflicted by a knee problem and only recently returned.
Getty ImagesQuicker service than before
City were active in recruiting midfielders and forwards over the summer to compensate for the loss of Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. At first they brought in Mateo Kovacic, followed by late swoops for Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes.
The duo arrived in the last week of August and have had very little time to work with Haaland on the training ground. The Norwegian may appear superhuman, but like any other player he needs time to work up an understanding with his new team-mates. And he is on the way to doing that, heading in a Nunes cross against Forest.
"I think they've got different personnel," said former City midfielder Owen Hargraves on after the win at Leipzig. "He's getting a feel for different players, obviously Kevin De Bruyne is not playing. Riyad Mahrez isn't there. Gundogan isn't in there. Doku is a new player. Erling is probably working out his runs and his timing as well."
Fellow pundit Joleon Lescott added: "It's quicker service where now it's Doku and Phil Foden operating in combined spaces. They're dribblers and sliding balls down the sides. Obviously that comes with timing and understanding. It's not that he's not getting chances, it's just it's going to take time to adjust to the speed of it all and the adaptation."
Getty More defenders to think about
While Haaland has had to get used to the new arrivals, opponents have had a year to get used to him. And they are adopting new tactics to stop the Norwegian, or at least make his life harder. Rather than man-marking him, teams have often tasked two players, or even three, with keeping him quiet.
"Now I'm seeing every time it goes into the box somebody is attaching themselves to him. Last season he was able to find space wherever he went into the box and teams weren't really expecting his presence in there," Lescott said. "But now that the ball tends to fall to him, just be close to him then all of a sudden you are able to compete."
Haaland has also noticed a difference in how opponents set up against him. "I feel they are doing more things to stop me – putting more players on me," he told . "But this is okay, I don’t mind. It’s a bigger challenge and if they want to put more players on me it means there is space elsewhere [for other team-mates]. As simple as that. I just try and do my job and keep on doing the same as I did last season."
