Erling Haaland broke the xG record in Man City’s draw against Chelsea in round 25 of the Premier League.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland set an unwanted xG record after having an unglamorous game against Chelsea.
Man City, as usual, enjoyed more possession of the ball but struggled to break down the Blues’ solid defensive line. The opportunities were not absent, but Man City was unable to take advantage of them successfully and the person most mentioned was none other than Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.
Erling Haaland broke the record for highest xG (1.71) in a Premier League match this season without scoring a single goal. The 23-year-old player had a total of 9 shots, including 3 big chances that could have finished the opponent. (The xG index is understood as the expected goals index, the higher the xG index represents the higher number of expected goals.)
The last person to match Haaland’s unfortunate xG record this season was Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez, who had 1.61 expected goals per 64 minutes against Newcastle on January 1.
Haaland has scored 16 goals this season at the NHA and failing to score against Chelsea will certainly make Haaland unhappy. However, coach Pep Guardiola showed great sympathy for his student.
Pep said: “It was good to have 9 shots and I believe next time Haaland will score. I was a soccer player for 11 years and scored 11 goals. What statistics! One goal per season. I’m not the right person to give advice to strikers.”
“We create chances, he has chances and next time he will score. I don’t blame him. That’s football, that’s people.”
Daniel Sturridge, who is working as a commentator for Sky Sports, also commented on Haaland’s lackluster performance.
The former Liverpool player said: “Of course, he will analyze his game when he gets home and say what could I have done better? A player of Haaland’s level, who comes on the pitch wanting to score, he will go home feeling disappointed in himself. But that’s the life of a striker. There are days when nothing supports me.”
With a draw against Chelsea, Man City lost the opportunity to improve their position on the rankings. Currently, Pep Guardiola’s army is ranked 3rd with 53 points, 2 points behind Arsenal and 4 points behind Liverpool. However, Man City still has one match yet to play, absolutely anything can happen, the race to win the Premier League this season is still extremely attractive.