Erling Haaland warned his teammates of Manchester City that they cannot look for excuses to defend their bitter disappointing season.
While City could still end the campaign in second place mathematically, it cannot be denied that they have no longer declined. Pep Guardiola’s team is 18 points behind Champions Liverpool, with a break -in that started at the end of October and triggered a run of just one win in 13 games in 13 games.
City was unloaded from the Carabao Cup in the fourth round and influenced in the Champions League so much that they did not automatically qualify for the KO phases and ultimately struck Real Madrid. However, they could end their name with the FA Cup Ruhm.
“This season was tough,” said Haaland BBC Sport. “It’s not nice to lose so many games. It’s boring and is not fun. So we have to be well finished and get a trophy.
“It is a good habit of reaching Wembley and always important to win trophies. We have the FA Cup final for which we can play for a terrible season.”
Many have pointed out the struggle of the city with considerable injuries as an explanation for their fights. Ballon d’Or winner Rodri was put down by an ACL injury at the end of the season in September. Several central defenders were plagued throughout the season, and Haaland himself missed an ankle injury for over a month, but the Norway international is not hidden behind her injury record.
“We weren’t stable enough this season and we didn’t win enough games, it’s so easy,” he continued. “We have to do better in the big games. We didn’t win enough consecutive games.
“Of course we had injuries throughout the season. But we shouldn’t look for excuses. Each one of us was not good enough and we were not in top form. So if they are not in the best form, they won’t win games in this country because it is so difficult.”