‘It’s OUR fault’ – Pep Guardiola points blame in strong response to Erling Haaland service concerns

Pep Guardiola urged that Erling Haaland is not to blame for the lack of touches he’s getting in a Manchester City shirt, insisting that the squad must work collectively to solve the issue.

The Norwegian striker is the league’s leading scorer with 26 goals, a tally that no City player has bettered since Francis Lee in 1972 and enough to win the Golden Boot in seven of the last ten seasons.

Since his hat-trick against Wolves in January, the No.9 has scored one in his last four Premier League games.

Haaland is averaging around 20 touches per game in the Premier League this season – and has struggled to make an impact in recent weeks, prompting pundits to question his suitability in a free-flowing Guardiola system.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Guardiola rubbished suggestions that the Norwegian’s number of touches per match is having an impact on his overall contribution to the team.

“It’s our fault. Not Erling. Erling has been impressive all season,” he said.

“It’s not metrics, I don’t need metrics to know. When I finish the game one second later I know if he has been involved or not and who should be more involved or not. I don’t need numbers or metrics.”

Despite netting a scintillating hat-trick against Wolves in January, Haaland has only struck once during his last four league games, which marks his least fruitful spell at the club since joining for £51million last year.

He also failed to find the target away at Red Bull Leipzig during Manchester City’s 1-1 draw in the Champions League on Wednesday.

When asked whether his lack of involvement is an issue, Guardiola responded: ‘Yes, of course. But it depends on us, not on him. He moves well.’

Guardiola will want the Norwegian back firing on all cylinders as soon as possible, as the reigning champions chase down a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.