Erling Haaland tells Manchester City teammates to ‘get their a**es’ going after “way too bad” start | OneFootball

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has now hit out at his teammates for their poor start to the ongoing Premier League season.

City have endured a difficult opening period to the new campaign, with back-to-back defeats raising questions over Pep Guardiola’s side ahead of the Manchester derby among other high-profile contests.

While the Norwegian striker himself has been in remarkable form on the international stage – scoring five times and assisting twice in Norway’s 11-1 rout of Moldova – his focus has quickly shifted back to domestic matters, where he believes standards are not being met.

The comments come at a crucial moment for Pep Guardiola’s squad, most recently impacted by the absence of Omar Marmoush, who will miss the derby and likely several weeks beyond owing to a knee injury sustained with Egypt this week.

With key fixtures against Manchester United, Napoli, and Arsenal approaching across competitions, leadership from figures such as Erling Haaland will be pivotal in keeping City’s title ambitions on track.

The 25-year-old’s words also echo his own competitive mentality, one seen throughout his first two years in Manchester. Having broken Premier League scoring records last season and added further silverware to his collection, the striker has made clear that dips in performance or excuses about adaptation from new arrivals will not be tolerated.

Speaking during a new interview with Viaplay ahead of City’s clash against Manchester United, Haaland has insisted that he and his teammates need to ‘get their a**es going after a poor start to the season.

“We’ve lost two games in a row, it’s not good enough, it’s way too bad. We need to figure it out, get back to winning ways. We can’t afford to lose games, as there’s so many good teams,” said Haaland, as relayed by MailSport.

“It’s perfect to turn things around against United,” he continued. “We need to all be on our best, get our a**es going, get things going, because it’s not been good enough so far. Losing’s not cool, of course. It’s annoying.

“You need to use it to something positive. As motivation to do better the next game, and I expect that we are. We need to use the angriness inside us out on the pitch to deliver at our highest level.”

Haaland went on to admit, “Maybe it’s not angriness, more a lust for revenge. That’s the word I want to use. Turn things around to want to win again after we’ve lost. We need to do better. We’ve played good at times, but it hasn’t been consistent enough at our highest level.

“We’re too good for that [the signings adapting] to be an excuse. Whoever plays, we know what to do and how to win matches. We need to improve as a team. That is not an excuse. That’s what the club pays us for.”

Looking ahead, Manchester City fans will be eager to see whether Erling Haaland’s rallying cry sparks a reaction against their fiercest rivals. The striker has already shown his sharpness on the international stage, and Guardiola will hope that same ruthlessness is transferred.

Should Manchester City fail to respond through a strong performance and result this weekend, the pressure will only intensify – particularly with early-season leaders keen to build momentum in the Premier League title race.

But with Erling Haaland demanding a higher level from his teammates, the derby provides the perfect stage for a response that could reset Manchester City’s trajectory.