Pep Guardiola is confident that Erling Haaland will return to his best form if his Manchester City teammates step up their game. Despite the team’s recent struggles, Guardiola believes that Haaland’s current dip in productivity is a result of the overall decline in the team’s performance, not a lack of ability on the striker’s part.
Manchester City is going through an unusually rough patch, winning only one of their last 11 matches across all competitions, and losing eight. This slump has affected Haaland, who has scored just once in his last five appearances after being one of the key players in their four consecutive Premier League title wins.
Guardiola, however, ruled out a return to the ‘false nine’ system he used successfully in the past, emphasizing that he prefers to play with Haaland. “I don’t think in the situation that I have that I don’t let Erling play — absolutely not,” he said. “No, no, I didn’t think about that.”
The manager also pointed out that the reason for Haaland’s lack of goals is the team’s current style of play, with fewer chances being created for the striker. “When he’s surrounded by two or three or four central defenders, it’s not easy for him. We have to play better, to create the spaces for him,” Guardiola explained.
In addition, Guardiola mentioned that Manchester City might explore the possibility of signing new players in the January transfer window, although the club has not been active in the winter market in recent years. “We’ll see. I don’t know how many times in the last years we’ve gone into the winter (market) — maybe just Aymeric Laporte seven years ago,” he said. “We’re not a big fan of that, but the circumstances of this season have been special. We have to see if something is possible and if not, we will wait until the summer.”
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