Currently, nothing appears to be favoring Manchester City – and top forward Erling Haaland is quite displeased.
If you could choose any player in the Premier League to take a penalty to secure a victory, it would undoubtedly be the prolific Norwegian. Not this time, however.
Aiming for a decisive goal, Haaland had his second-half shot stopped by penalty specialist Jordan Pickford, as Manchester City’s struggles persisted with a 1-1 stalemate against Everton at Etihad Stadium.
“How do you respond mentally?” inquired boss Pep Guardiola regarding the penalty miss. “Living is not simple.” Playing sports is challenging. When it occurs, it is fine.
“There are plenty of minutes left in the game, and we created opportunities later on.” We made, amazing how they raced and battled. In certain games it wasn’t great, but today it was well executed.
When the full-time whistle blew, some boos could be heard from the home fans at Etihad Stadium, and a disheartened Haaland removed his hair tie and shirt before quickly heading down the tunnel.
As Haaland walked away out of view, Guardiola remained still on the field, appearing like a man who couldn’t discover solutions to their ongoing dilemma.
The city’s dominant team has experienced a significant decline and has managed to win only once in their last 13 matches across all competitions.
During the post-match press conference, the shocked Spaniard was hardly audible while answering the questions directed at him.
“My body language was optimistic,” he expressed. “The team performed very well.” We had an unknown number of shots. “The initial portion was excellent.”
The team has an extensive injury list, yet their decline has coincided with Haaland’s difficulties in scoring.
The forward had a rapid beginning to the season and seemed poised to break more scoring records after hitting 10 goals in his initial five matches, but he has scored only three in the following 13.
This has mainly been attributed to his subpar expected goal (xG) rate, with data indicating he has netted five goals less than anticipated during this recent stretch.
Additionally, there is a notable difference in his shot conversion rate between the first five games and the last 13, plummeting from 38.5% to a mere 6.4%.
The missed penalty was the only time Haaland hit the target in the match – however, Everton did not aim to give him special focus.
When inquired about any specific strategy for managing the frontman, Dyche replied: “No.” The other day while playing against Chelsea, I was questioned about Cole Palmer and how remarkable of a player he is becoming.
“We recognize that Haaland is exceptional, but I have faith in the team.” “I don’t focus on just one part; I consider the team and what they are doing, and they performed well today.”
After Toffees striker Iliman Ndiaye equalized Bernardo Silva’s initial goal, the pivotal instance occurred in the second half when Vitalii Mykolenko fouled Savinho in the penalty area.
In the VAR review, there was a mental duel as Everton’s captain Seamus Coleman was shown a yellow card for attempting to distract Haaland, who held the ball.
The booking clearly turned out to be well-deserved for the team, and Pickford appeared to enjoy his significant moment, bouncing up and down on his line, sticking his tongue out before bending low to his right to deflect the ball away.
Pickford has successfully saved significant penalties for England on the global stage, marking this as his seventh penalty stop since becoming part of Everton in 2017.
At this point, City’s fortune allowed them to regain possession, with Haaland scoring from a header, but it was disallowed for offside, much to the delight of the away fans.
Haaland had converted 15 out of 16 of his prior penalties in the league, with the only miss striking the woodwork, and this was the first one he witnessed getting saved.
Dyche remarked on Pickford’s save, stating, “It’s commendable of the analysts to provide him with as many advantages from various penalties as possible.” “Give him credit for making the correct choice in that instant.”
Ex-England keeper Paul Robinson mentioned on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Pickford excels at pressuring forwards.” Haaland must have sensed the pressure in that moment; the venue became quiet.
“It was a good stop, but a very bad penalty.” He didn’t swing it like a left-footer ought to. “A bad penalty, but an excellent save.”
Former England defender Matt Upson stated on Amazon Prime: “That was a fantastic save by Pickford.” He enjoys moments like this. He doesn’t simplify things for the person taking the penalty.
“However, Haaland missing that penalty reflects somewhat on the team’s current confidence level.”
