Erling Haaland's brutal Man City admission ahead of derby vs Manchester United - 'lust for revenge'

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Erling Haaland has opened up on Manchester City's stuttering start to the season ahead of the Premier League return and the visit of Man United

Erling Haaland has spoken out about Manchester City's stuttering start to the season

Erling Haaland says Manchester City have a 'lust for revenge' as they seek to kickstart their campaign with a derby day victory over Manchester United.

Pep Guardiola's side are in the bottom half of the Premier League table heading into the clash having lost back to back matches against Tottenham and Brighton prior to the international break.

The Blues have taken just three points from a possible nine and Haaland, who has scored three times in those three games, knows the results have not been up to standard and insists the squad are ready to put things right.

"We’ve lost two games in a row, it’s not good enough, it’s way too bad," he said, speaking to Viaplay in Norway. "We need to figure it out, get back to winning ways.

"We can’t afford to lose games, as there’s so many good teams. It’s perfect to turn things around against United.

"We need to all be on our best, get our asses going, get things going, because it’s not been good enough so far."

Haaland said the City dressing room, which has overseen a dramatic overhaul in personnel in 2025 with a host of new signings arriving and plenty of experience departing, is determined to turn their stuttering form around as the Blues prepare for a crunch few weeks ahead of the October international break.

Asked if there was an anger among the players, Haaland said: "Maybe not angriness, more a lust for revenge. That’s the word I want to use. Turn things around to want to win again after we’ve lost. We need to do better.

"Losing’s not cool. It’s annoying. You need to use it to something positive, as motivation to do better in the next game, and I expect that we are. We need to use the angriness inside us out on the pitch to deliver at our highest level.

"We’ve played good at times, but it hasn’t been consistent enough at our highest level."

Haaland rejected the notion that this new-look City squad needed time to adapt, insisting the players at Guardiola's disposal have too much quality to use that as mitigation.

"We’re too good for that to be an excuse," he added. "Whoever plays, we know what to do and how to win matches. We need to improve as a team. That is not an excuse. That’s what the club pays us for."