On the eve of his team’s pivotal Champions League encounter against Galatasaray, manager Pep Guardiola stated that Manchester City’s players must step up to help Erling Haaland overcome his goal drought.
The Norwegian hasn’t scored from open play since before Christmas, but he did strike from the penalty spot against Brighton in early January.
Guardiola recently stated that his star forward was “exhausted.” Despite his current slump, he still leads the Premier League goalscoring records with 20 goals.
In order to “clean his mind, his body,” he decided not to include the 25-year-old in his starting lineup for Saturday’s 2-0 victory over bottom club Wolves.
Guardiola stated that his team needs to “play better” in order to support Haaland during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
He declared, “Create more chances, and he will score.” “Never undervalue the strikers or goal scorers because they will always silence you.”
“There is no doubt that we want him to score for the rest of his life.”
The 2023 European champions enter their match at the Etihad on Wednesday fresh off an unexpected 3-1 setback to Bodo/Glimt on the road last week.
With 13 points, they were ranked 11th out of eight clubs in the Champions League’s league phase.
Only the top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16; teams that place between ninth and twenty-fourth will compete in a two-leg play-off next month.
Guardiola, whose squad is vying for four titles, stated, “I would prefer to have more (points), but it is what we deserve.” “We must concentrate and strive to win our game before determining our final position.”
Following his dismissal in Norway, Rodri is suspended for the game on Wednesday.
Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, two recent additions, are not allowed to participate in the Champions League until the knockout stages.
Oscar Bobb, Savinho, John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol are still out due to injuries.
