Key striker Erling Haaland received the lowest score from Sofascore in the match Man City almost lost to Chelsea, and was out of breath in the Premier League championship race.
Before the key match of round 25, Man City was rated higher than Chelsea because of its extremely impressive performance with a series of 11 consecutive wins in all competitions. Erling Haaland is still the top scorer in the Premier League. Last round, he scored a double in a 2-0 victory over Everton. On the contrary, Chelsea has lost 2/3 of the most recent matches.
But the Blues have always been an annoying team. The way they actively played defensive mass at Etihad to wait for opportunities is a testament. Man City held the ball a lot (71% of the match), but had difficulty developing the game. And when they pushed the squad too high, they… fell into a trap. In the 42nd minute, Jackson crossed for Sterling on the left wing. The former Man City striker tricked Walker and then defeated Ederson with a curling shot.
In the opposite direction, although Man City pressed the opponent to the point of suffocation, Haaland was strangely ungainly. The Norwegian striker missed many good opportunities and was the reason why Man City lost points in this match. According to Sofascore statistics, Haaland only touched the ball 27 times throughout the match, took 9 shots, only 2 hits the goal, but none were dangerous. Sofascore even gave Haaland the lowest score in the match: 6.4 points.
Luckily for Man City, after launching 29 shots (compared to… 9 for Chelsea), they also scored an equalizer. Their savior is midfielder Rodri and… luck. The Spanish midfielder’s shot from outside the penalty area hit Chalobah and changed direction, leaving goalkeeper Petrovic helpless.