The Man City dilemma is summed up by the Haaland penalty miss: “Life is not easy.”

The Man City dilemma

The Man City dilemma is summed up by the Haaland penalty miss: “Life is not easy.”

Erling Haaland, Manchester City’s standout striker, is not happy since it appears like nothing is going their way right now.

The prolific Norwegian is the guy you would pass the ball to for a penalty to win a game. If you were looking for a Premier League player right now. This time, however, not.

As Manchester City. Dilemma continued with a 1-1 draw against Everton at Etihad Stadium. Haaland attempted to deliver a fatal blow but was denied a chance by spot-kick specialist Jordan Pickford in the second half.

Regarding the missed penalty, manager Pep Guardiola questioned, “How do you react mentally?” “Life is not simple. It is okay when it occurs.

“We had the opportunities later, but there are still many minutes to go. We made them, and their running and fighting skills were amazing. While some of the games were subpar, today’s performance was excellent.

Etihad Stadium’s home crowd let out a few jeers at the end of the game. And a dejected Haaland tore off his shirt and hair. Bobble before making his way directly down the tunnel.

Guardiola stood still on the field. Looking like a guy who could not find solutions to their current predicament, while Haaland walked slowly away from them.

After a stunning decline, City’s all-conquering team has only won once in their last 13 games in all competitions.

He said, “My body language was positive.” “The team performed admirably. I am not sure how many shots we received. The first half was outstanding.

xG is underperforming in Haaland.

Although City has a long list of injuries, Haaland’s problems in front of goal have coincided with their decline.

After scoring 10 goals in his first five games of the season. The striker appeared to be headed for more goals, but he has only scored three in his last 13 appearances.

Statistics indicate that he has scored five fewer goals than he should have during this recent run. Which has mostly been due to poor performance on his expected goal (xG) rate.

Additionally, his shot conversion rate dropped from 38.5% to a pitiful 6.4% between his first five games and his last thirteen.

Haaland’s only attempt on goal during the match was the missed penalty, but Everton had no intention of giving him further attention.

“No,” Dyche responded when asked if there had been a special plan to deal with the frontman. While playing Chelsea the other day, I was questioned about Cole Palmer and how excellent he is developing as a player.

“We are aware that Haaland is as well, but I have faith in the group. I look at the team and what they are doing, and they did a wonderful job today, rather than just one part of it.”

Good save, but poor penalty

The decisive moment occurred in the second half when Vitalii Mykolenko tripped Savinho in the area, following Bernardo Silva’s opening goal being cancelled out by Toffees attacker Iliman Ndiaye.

Seamus Coleman, the captain of Everton, was given a yellow card for attempting to stop Haaland, who was holding the ball, during the VAR examination.

Pickford looked to enjoy his big moment, leaping up and down on his line, putting his tongue out, and then stooping low to his right to push the ball away. In the end, the team’s booking felt well-earned.

Pickford has made significant international penalty saves for England, and this was his seventh save since joining Everton in 2017.

To the delight of the traveling fans, City was able to recycle the ball and Haaland headed in. But it was disallowed for offside. This is just how lucky they are right now.

This was Haaland’s first time seeing a penalty saved in the league; he had previously scored 15 of 16 of them, with the other one striking the woodwork.

Regarding Pickford’s save, Dyche remarked, “It is good from the analysts to give him as much advantage of as many penalties as they can.” “He deserves praise for making the correct choice on the spur of the situation.”

Paul Robinson, a former England goalie, spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Pickford is skilled at applying pressure to strikers. There must have been pressure on Haaland because the place fell silent.

“The penalty was awful, but the save was respectable. Unlike a left-footer, he failed to whip it around. A good save, but a bad penalty.

Matt Upson, a former England defender, commented on Amazon Prime: “Pickford made a fantastic save. This is the kind of circumstance he loves. He does not make the penalty taker’s job any simpler.

“However, the fact that Haaland missed the penalty shows how confident this team is right now.”