PEP Guardiola has leapt to the defence of struggling forward Erling Haaland – and vowed to to help him find his scoring boots again.
The Norwegian striker has scored just three times in his last 12 Premier League outings.
At the same time, Manchester City have managed to win just once in a dozen outings.
However, the Spanish tactician, 53, is not pinning the blame on his star striker.
Instead, he believes his side must improve collectively following a dismal run of form.
“It’s about us, not just one player,” Guardiola said.
“When in the past we score goals and Erling was so prolific, helping us, it was because of the team.
“When you have problems at the back, in the middle, it is for everyone, it is a team, it is not about one player. It would be easy, if it was just one player, the reason why. It’s not about that.
“Erling is so important for us, will be so important for us, has been. (We have to) try to do things better, to use him better.”
Haaland has scored an incredible 108 goals in 122 games, since joining the Cityzens in 2022.
And after failing to find the net against Aston Villa in a 2-1 defeat, the poacher was quick to blame himself.
“It affects us all, of course,” the hotshot admitted.
“It affects me. I haven’t been good enough and I haven’t delivered for City this season.
“I need to step up and work harder, I just need to get better. It just isn’t good enough. I will do everything I can to do better.
“We’re not able to win matches anymore, we can’t control matches like we used to. We used to control matches way more.
“In the defining moments I’m failing to score, in the defining moments we’re conceding goals. The margins are small and that’s how it is, I will do everything I can to turn this around.”
Manchester City entertain Everton on Boxing Day in the midday kick off.
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