Erling Haaland makes incredibly honest admission after Man City suffer another defeat
Manchester City have lost nine of their last 12 games in all competitions after Morgan Rogers inspired Aston Villa to a 2-1 victory in the Premier League on Saturday
by Felix Keith · The MirrorErling Haaland admits he's blaming himself for Manchester City’s shocking run of form after they were beaten by Aston Villa.
City were downed 2-1 at Villa Park in Saturday’s early kick-off in the Premier League, making it their ninth defeat in their last 12 games in all competitions. They are now sixth in the Premier League table, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who also have two games in hand on their rivals.
Jhon Duran opened the scoring with a tap-in after passes from Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers sliced open the vulnerable City defence. And the outstanding Rogers made it 2-0 in the second half with a low finish after going close by hitting the outside of the post.
Phil Foden massaged the scoreline with a late consolation after some sloppy Villa defending, but it didn’t lessen the blow. Haaland now has just one goal in his last six games and gave an honest take on his personal performances and those of his team after the game.
"Of course, we are disappointed, it's not good enough. It's not good enough from me,” he told TNT Sports. “We have to continue, we have to believe and we have to keep working hard. We have to continue. First I'm looking at myself, I haven't been doing things good enough, I haven't been scoring my chances. I have to do better, I haven't been good enough."
Asked about City’s confidence levels, he replied: "Of course, not the best. We know how important confidence is and you can see that it affects every human being. That is how it is, we have to continue and stay positive even though it is difficult."
Pressure is mounting on Pep Guardiola, who has never experienced such a dip and doesn’t seem to have a solution right now, but Haaland backed his boss.
"He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that,” he said. “He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year. We still believe in him, we have to work harder than ever right now."
Guardiola has cut a dejected figure in recent weeks and gave a familiar interview to BBC Match of the Day. “It can come, it can not come. It depends on us,” he said. “The solution is [to] bring the players back. We have just one central defender fit, that is difficult. We are going to try [in the] next game – another opportunity and we don't think much further than that."
He added: “We concede the goals we didn't concede in the past, we [don't] score the goals we scored in the past. Football is not just one reason. There are a lot of little factors. Aston Villa are a team that are doing well in the Champions League, Premier League as well. It is a tough place to come. Last season we won the Premier League, but we came here and lost.
“We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys. Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.”
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