Man City striker Erling Haaland is out of form by his own lofty standards (Image: Getty Images)
Jeremy Doku has labelled Manchester City’s goal machine Erling Haaland as one of the moodiest forwards in Europe, despite his phenomenal scoring record.
Since his £51million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland has been shattering records, netting an astonishing 52 goals in his debut season and propelling City to a Treble triumph.
Overall, Haaland boasts an impressive tally of 107 goals in 118 games under Pep Guardiola’s management. However, the Norwegian sensation has only found the back of the net three times in his last seven outings, coinciding with City’s most challenging period since Guardiola took the reins in 2016.
Haaland’s frustration was evident when Doku opted not to pass to him during City’s clash with Nottingham Forest, although the Belgian winger scored the third goal of the match straight afterwards. Haaland kept his congratulatory message brief.
“He just said ‘congratulations’,” Doku explained. “Obviously it’s normal. He’s an attacker, and he wants the ball. I try to look for him. This action I shot, maybe it was a goal or a miss. This time it was a goal.
“Erling is not a striker who is happy. He knows he can’t get every ball, so just wants to be in the best position. It’s unlucky he didn’t pick up a goal, but you saw how important he was for the team.”
Jeremy Doku dazzled on Man City’s left-hand side against Nottingham Forest (Image: Getty)
Haaland has not found the net in the Premier League since before the international break. And City have suffered as a result, going seven games without a win before Wednesday’s 3-0 triumph over Forest at the Etihad Stadium.
Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne set City on their way before Doku blanked Haaland and added the third. While Haaland has so often been the Blues’ leading light over the past two-and-a-half seasons, De Bruyne took the acclaim against the Tricky Trees with a goal and an assist as he continues to work his way back from injury.
“It’s been a tough time,” De Bruyne told Amazon Prime. “We have to accept the challenge and I think we did well today. It’s been a hard period but we have to accept the challenge. The Premier League is getting harder and harder and every team is tough to play.
“Everybody is taking points off everybody. We have to improve. First we have to try to win games and we’ll see in a couple of months where we are.”
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1984911/erling-haaland-man-city-jeremy-doku