Soccer-Haaland frustration spills over after bad day at the office
Soccer Football – Premier League – Manchester City v Chelsea – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain – February 17, 2024 Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland misses a chance to score Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Erling Haaland pushed aside a television camera after the final whistle on Saturday, his frustration spilling over after he took nine shots but scored no goals for the first time in his Manchester City career.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Manchester City v Chelsea – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain – February 17, 2024 Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland heads at goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Rodri netted a late equaliser to salvage a 1-1 Premier League home draw for the champions against Chelsea as they avoided their first loss at the Etihad in 15 months.
“That’s good, it’s good to have nine shots,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Next game he is going to score. I was a football player, I played 11 years, I scored 11 goals. One goal a season. It’s football, it’s human beings.”
Soccer Football – Premier League – Manchester City v Chelsea – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain – February 17, 2024 Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland and Rodri react after the match REUTERS/Carl Recine
As the players gathered on the pitch after the final whistle, Haaland pushed aside a live TV camera focused on the striker’s face.
Haaland, who rewrote the scoring record books in his Premier League debut season last year, continued his prolific form before a broken foot sidelined him for nearly two months.
He scored twice in City’s 2-0 win over Everton last weekend to reclaim sole possession of the league scoring lead with 16 goals.
City remained third in the table on 53 points, four behind leaders Liverpool and two adrift of Arsenal, but with a game in hand. They can climb to second with victory over visiting Brentford on Tuesday.
“If Haaland put away the chances we’re not even talking about this,” former City player Micah Richards said on Sky Sports.
“I never worry about Haaland, his mentality is completely different to most strikers in world football. He always gets an opportunity,” he added.
“He misses a lot of chances…if he wasn’t getting these chances, that’s when I would be worried.”
The 23-year-old Norwegian looked frustrated all game long, sending two headers over the crossbar before hitting a volley just wide. His best chance was a late unmarked close-range header he sent over the bar before burying his head in disbelief.
Many City fans around the world did the same.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)