Pep Guardiola's stance clear on Erling Haaland as blame placed over Man City woes

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (right) and Erling Haaland (Image: PA)

Pep Guardiola has come out in defence of Manchester City’s struggling star Erling Haaland after their recent shock defeat to Aston Villa, refuting any individual blame.

Despite the team slipping to seventh place in the Premier League and falling a whopping 12 points behind leaders Liverpool, the City boss maintains the usual mantra.

"It is about us, not just one player," Guardiola remains confident in Haaland's abilities and value to the team, emphasising, "In the past when we scored goals and Erling was so prolific and helping us it was because of the team. But when you have problems at the back and middle, it is all about the team.

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"Not just one player. If it's just one player it would be easy to see the reason why. It's not about that. Erling is so important for us, will be important for us and we need to use him better."

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Heading into a crucial Boxing Day clash with Everton, the coach expresses unwavering belief in his squad, concluding: "This situation is new for all of us.

"It's about us, everyone. The guys are running and making an effort more than ever. People say we are not running, fighting, it's this player, this manager - it is not about that.

Erling Haaland of Manchester City looks dejected (Image: Getty Images) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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"It is about many little details or some big details that make us not as good as we were. But we have another opportunity on Boxing Day. We have players coming back and at a certain time we will be better."

Haaland has confessed he feels the weight of his recent goal drought but remains confident in Guardiola's ability to steer Manchester City back on track as their title defence hits a rough patch.

"Of course, we are disappointed, it's not good enough. It's not good enough from me," he disclosed to 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. 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."

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"He won the Premier League six times in seven years, so we will never forget that. 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."