Erling Haaland less ruthless amid heavy workload, but still decisive for Manchester City | OneFootball

Despite a decisive late display in Manchester City’s 2-1 win at Anfield, Erling Haaland’s edge has waned since the turn of the year. L'Équipe notes it may be linked to a heavy workload.

At Liverpool he headed the equaliser for Bernardo Silva on 84 minutes, then converted a 90+3 penalty for the winner.

He still leads the Premier League scoring chart with 21, four ahead of Brentford’s Igor Thiago, and in December became the fastest to 100 Premier League goals, reaching the mark in 111 matches.

Pep Guardiola said Haaland and Omar Marmoush were too passive after the break, which hampered City’s attack. Haaland also spurned passes from Bernardo Silva and Rodri before the interval, and he has gone eight league games without an open-play goal, his longest such run since April 2018 at Molde.

“I have not scored enough since the start of the year, I know I must improve, be more incisive,” Haaland said. Opta says that in 2026 Premier League games he has averaged 1.5 shots on target per match, down from 2.1 in 2025, and one big chance versus 1.9.

No City player has logged more minutes since last summer, 2,874 in all competitions, and he has featured in 92% of matches.

More rotation could follow, with Marmoush and winter arrival Antoine Semenyo options. Used wide, Semenyo has four goals in 2026 to Haaland’s three from half the appearances, seven to 12. He could respond on Wednesday, when City host Fulham at 20:30.

Source: L'Équipe