The Norwegian failed to score for the third game running as City fell to a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday, their third consecutive defeat in all competitions and their ninth loss in nine matches. The striker, who is clinging on to his status as the Premier League's joint top scorer by a thread, had the least touches (18) of all the players that started the game.
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THE DAMNING HAALAND STATS
Haaland's blunt displays in the three games since he last scored against Crystal Palace on December 7 were illustrated by an embarrassing array of statistics which surfaced on social media, summarising his performances in the defeats by Villa, Manchester United and Juventus. It was revealed that in addition to not scoring or setting up any goals, the Norwegian had failed to complete any dribbles and had a pitiful three attempts on goal in the 270 minutes he spent on the pitch, just one of which was on target, with the other two being blocked. Haaland also lost possession 22 times and only completed 19 passes.
WHAT HAALAND SAID
"First I'm looking at myself, I haven't been doing things good enough, I haven't been scoring my chances," Haaland told TNT Sports after the Villa loss. "I have to do better, I haven't been good enough."
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Haaland scored 10 goals in his first five games of the season, including bagging consecutive hat-tricks against Ipswich and West Ham. It was the fastest start any player had made to a Premier League season. The Norwegian, however, has scored just three times since in the league, with Mohamed Salah drawing level with him as the league's top scorer with 13 goals. Cole Palmer is two behind with 11.
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WHAT NEXT FOR HAALAND?
City will look to lift themselves from their worst performance in the league in 15 seasons when they host Everton on Boxing Day, although Haaland admitted it will not be easy to pull themselves out of their crisis as confidence is so low. He added: "Of course [confidence is] 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."