"Genuinely been so bad", "Arteta curse is affecting him" - Fans slam Erling Haaland for his showing in Manchester City's loss to Bournemouth
Some fans on X called out Manchester City star Erling Haaland after his disappointing showing in the Cityzens' 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth. City's 32-game unbeaten run in the Premier League ended at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, November 2.
The Norwegian striker is on a disappointing run of form in the league, with just one goal in his last five league games. Haaland started the 2024-25 season in brilliant form, scoring 10 goals in the first five league games. The 23-year-old striker has scored just once more since then, leading to questions on his consistency for Pep Guardiola's side.
Erling Haaland worked hard for Manchester City in their defeat to Bournemouth but had nothing to show for it after 90 minutes of action at the Vitality Stadium. He was well shackled by the Cherries' rearguard but was also wasteful, missing three big chances during the game.
Fans monitored the former Borussia Dortmund man's performance against Bournemouth, and they shared their thoughts on X after the match.
"Haaland's game by numbers vs. Bournemouth: 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 dribbles, 0 chances created, 0 ground duels won, 3 BIG chances missed, Back-to-back generational stinkers. ❌⚽"
"Genuinely been so bad past 6 weeks"
"Arteta curse is affecting Haaland. Mam has not scored in the PL since 'Humble eh'"
A statistic account (StatMuse) pointed out that the burly striker has missed more big chances than any other player in England since the start of the 2023-24 season.
"Erling Haaland has missed 41 big chances since the start of last PL season. No other player even has 30 BCM in that time", they posted.
A fan termed Haaland as a 'tap-in merchant' and claimed that Manchester City will miss Julian Alvarez and his dynamism.
"Man City and Pep Guadiola will now understand what Alvarez did for them last season in games like today against Bournemouth. Haaland is a tap in marchant who can only function when the team is doing well. Back to back lost in a week 👍", they wrote.
Another fan opined that City are in need of a new striker, seeing how many chances Haaland misses.
"City need another ST, Haaland had a bad day and that is a nightmare🤷♂️🤷♂️, fail big chances is the new constant in haaland's life🥺", they posted.
Erling Haaland registered 22 touches against the Cherries and attempted six shots in the game, of which only two were on target. The Norwegian came agonizingly close to finding a leveler for Manchester City in stoppage time, with goalkeeper Mark Travers and the post coming to the rescue of the home side.
Manchester City suffered double injury blow ahead of Bournemouth clash
Manchester City had their injury woes compounded as the duo of John Stones and Ruben Dias picked up injuries ahead of their clash against Bournemouth. Manager Pep Guardiola revealed that the two defenders are expected to miss out on a number of games through injury.
Guardiola spoke with journalist Simon Bajkowski ahead of the game at the Vitality Stadium, which his side went on to lose 2-1. The manager has been left frustrated in midweek at his side's injury troubles this season.
“Ruben Dias and John Stones are ruled out for little bit of long time”, he said (via Fabrizio Romano).
Goals from Antoine Semenyo (9') and Evanilson (64') helped Bournemouth pick up a first-ever win over Manchester City in the Premier League. The Cityzens were forced to name several half-fit players in their squad, as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho never made it off the bench.