The statistics behind Erling Haaland's goalless run
- Haaland went three club games without scoring before the October international break
- Manchester City need their striker firing without the injured Kevin De Bruyne
- What manager Pep Guardiola can do to get the Norwegian scoring again
So, Erling. What's going on, buddy?
After a monstrous 2022/23 season where he broke an ungodly amount of records, Manchester City's behemoth striker Haaland has endured a barren spell in front of goal as his club side wobble slightly in their defence of the Premier League.
Haaland contributed 36 of City's 94 league goals last term as his side overhauled Arsenal to win the title and it's a feat he may need to repeat if Pep Guardiola's side are to defend their championship. However, now without a goal in three club games, some changes need to be made.
Here's what's gone wrong for the striker so far and what City need to do to get the best out of him again.
Erling Haaland's Premier League start in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23
Goals
It took very little time at all for Haaland to fit in at Man City during his debut season at the Etihad. Two goals came on his Premier League debut away at West Ham on the opening weekend of 2022/23 and though he blanked against Bournemouth the week after, he would then net at Newcastle and score back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
The former Borussia Dortmund star had 11 goals by the time he had featured in eight league games in 2022/23. This time around, Haaland has scored eight Premier League goals, though he has also gone two games without a strike in the competition for only the fourth time in his City career.
Expected goals (xG)
The stats show Haaland outperformed his xG at the start of last season by more than three goals. He is still ahead of that metric in 2023/24 with an xG of 7.9 and a return of eight goals, but the drop-off shows the striker isn't being as impossibly clinical this time around.
His most recent league games have seen Haaland bring in xG scores of zero at Arsenal and 0.06 at Wolves, with both games ending in defeats for City.
Shots on target
Haaland hit the target with 64.5% of his shots in the first eight games of the 2022/23 Premier League season but his figure this time around has dropped by just over 8%, managing 18 accurate strikes from 32 efforts.
His particularly muted displays against Wolves and Arsenal came with both Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne - two midfield masters who often set the wheels in motion for City attacks - unavailable due to suspension and long-term injury respectively.
As you may expect, De Bruyne has been involved in more joint-goal contributions with Haaland than any other City player with 11. Phil Foden is second with six ahead of Ilkay Gundogan - now of Barcelona - with five.
While there were only three shots on target in the entire game, the way Arsenal shut Man City's wider attacking and creative outlets down in the 1-0 win at the Emirates before the October international break will be of huge concern to manager Guardiola.
How Man City can get Erling Haaland firing again
The likelihood is Haaland and Man City will put this blip behind them and enjoy a marvellous run of form filled with goals. However, there is undoubtedly a midfield conundrum which Guardiola needs to solve.
The trio of Rico Lewis, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic managed an expected assists score of 0.05 between them at Arsenal, showing not much help was forthcoming from midfield. It was Foden who looked most dangerous against the Gunners, creating two chances for his teammates.
The pair linked up to frightening effect early on in 2022/23, most notably in the 6-3 demolition of Manchester United when they each netted hat-tricks, before De Bruyne became Haaland's chief supplier.
Foden has to start in De Bruyne's absence, having created 20 chances in the league so far this season. Julian Alvarez is second with 19 but was disappointingly quiet against Arsenal and, with players like Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish at his disposal, Guardiola will almost certainly tinker with his starting XI in upcoming games against Brighton and Young Boys in the Champions League.
Haaland did at least make a scoring return to the Norway national team during the October international break with two goals against Cyprus but much bigger tests lie ahead for his club side and his teammates in the run-up to Christmas.
Guardiola will be keen for his striker to at least manage a shot next time out against Brighton, something he couldn't achieve during the loss to Arsenal.
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