Erling Haaland said he needs to «improve» his performances for Manchester City after scoring just two penalties in his last eight Premier League games, insisting that he has no excuses for his slump in form.
The 25-year-old scored a stoppage time spot-kick to seal a 2-1 win against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday after teeing up Bernardo Silva to score an 84th minute equaliser.
But despite his match-winning impact against Arne Slot’s team, Haaland’s wait for a goal from open play in the league now stretches back to a 2-0 win against West Ham on Dec. 20 and the Norway international, who leads the Premier League Golden Boot race with 21 goals so far this season, admits he must do better.
«I haven’t scored enough goals since the start of this year, you can say, and I know that I need to improve,» Haaland told reporters.
«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 want to speak about why I haven’t performed. 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.»
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City’s win at Anfield ensured that the club achieved a league double over Liverpool for the first time since the 1936-37 season and it saw Guardiola’s side close the gap on league leaders Arsenal to six points.
Mikel Arteta’s team are due to visit the Etihad on April 18 in what could be a title decider and Haaland says that City, who can close the gap to three points with a win at home to Fulham on Wednesday, still believe they can overhaul Arsenal.
«We’ve seen before that the title race is not over until it’s over,» Haaland said.
«So for me right now, I need to go shower and get back on the bus, recover, eat some good food, and focus on Fulham, because there’s still many games.»
