1 hour ago
26
Erling Haaland picked up an award on Tuesday night with Norway but still returns to Manchester City knowing he has 'no excuse'
Ahead of Norway's friendly with Switzerland on Tuesday night, Erling Haaland was handed an award for being the top goalscorer in World Cup qualifying. His 16 goals in eight games to propel Norway to their first major tournament in a generation were more than double what any other European player managed.
There's a strong chance that the 25-year-old will be picking up a similar prize ahead of Manchester City's game with Aston Villa towards the end of May. Haaland is three goals clear of Brentford's Igor Thiago in the Premier League goal charts and it would be a surprise if he was overtaken in that Golden Boot race as well.
And yet, something still isn't right at the moment with what the numbers irrefutably prove are the deadliest striker in world football. Just as it felt like Haaland couldn't stop scoring when he was driving Norway and City forward in autumn, the No.9 is struggling to break free of a winter hibernation.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our City WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. You can also join our City Facebook page by clicking HERE and don't miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
His two goals in a 4-1 win over Italy in the middle of November to help seal an historic qualification in style for Norway were his 31st and 32nd of Haaland's first 20 appearances for club and country in the 2025/26 campaign; since then, he has scored 11 from 29, and just five from 21 since Christmas.
Everyone is doing everything they can to get Haaland back to his best. Norway coach Stale Solbakken spoke of the 'special treatment' they had given him in allowing to miss their game last week, and he was only used for an hour on Tuesday on what looked like a beast of a pitch.
Having had the week off after the Carabao Cup final, it looked noteworthy that Haaland took a trip to Barcelona to see Dr Ramon Cugat, the preferred specialist of Pep Guardiola who is to go-to fixer for every problem that City want addressing. Solbakken was tight-lipped on the reason for the visit and Haaland's camp simply put it down to a player whose body needs a lot of looking after and who wants to control every bit of his performance making sure that he is in the best shape.
And so, with plenty of searching but no apparent findings, Haaland returns to Manchester for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final with Liverpool. With City out of the Champions League, there is little need to rest him as Guardiola's side look to book another trip to Wembley on the back of their Carabao Cup triumph over Arsenal.
Liverpool are one of only three teams Haaland has scored against in the last two months, after after a goal and assist at Anfield he gave a rare interview with newspaper journalists where he made clear that the incredible high standards he has set in the game are now seen as something that he needs to deliver on again and again.
"I haven't scored enough goals since the start of this year, you can say, and I know that I need to improve," he said. "I know I need to be more sharp, better at all of this and this is something that I have to work on. I have to keep going because this is what everyone deserves and expects.
"I don't think there's any excuse. Fatigue is a lot is in the head. It's a lot of games. Look at the schedule, it's not easy, and for me, it's about staying fit, don't get injured. That's the most important thing. And try to be ready to help the team."
Guardiola will not mind more games without goals where Haaland can help the team as much as he did against Arsenal at Wembley, yet there will be more relief in both Manchester and Norway if the striker can start scoring regularly again between now and the World Cup. He has likely already done enough to earn multiple awards for his season but, as he knows, 'everyone expects' again.
English (US) ·