In the Aston Villa vs Manchester City Premier League match, the hosts won the match 1-0. Haaland failed to add to his season’s tally of 15 goals at Villa Park, while other Manchester City attackers continued their underwhelming run.
The Cityzens are now in fifth position in the league table with 16 points in nine matches, which is six less than Arsenal’s tally.
11 of 17 goals scored by Manchester City in the Premier League this season have been scored by Haaland. No other player in Pep Guardiola’s team has scored more than two goals this season.
Aston Villa vs Manchester City Match Shows City’s Other Attacking Players Cannot Take Erling Haaland’s Form for Granted
Erling Haaland’s form makes him the most dangerous striker by far in the Premier League, but it is having a detrimental effect on the other players in Manchester City’s attack. They are always looking to play that final pass to the Norwegian rather than getting into the scoring areas and finishing themselves.
A number of Manchester City players are allowed to have shortcomings that continue to affect the performance of the team. Jeremy Doku is a good dribbler, but cannot play that elusive final pass to the striker.
Phil Foden cannot get into the opposition penalty box often enough, Bernardo Silva continues to see a dip in his form, Savinho is yet to cement his place in the starting XI, holds on to the ball for too long, and Rayan Cherki has not even gone close to replacing Kevin De Bruyne properly. Oscar Bobb can be slippery and manages to get into the box, but does not yet have the refinement in his final passes.
Other than Haaland, Manchester City’s attacking players are simply not able to break into the opposition penalty box and take shots at the goal often enough. There is a tendency to play crosses or through balls to Haaland with a hope that he will oblige.
Doku has not yet shown the ability to combine with the left-back while launching attacks by positioning him properly off the ball or by being prepared to play the pass to him. Foden does not exchange passes with Haaland often enough and Bernardo’s ability to cut inside into the box from the flanks has suffered.
Haaland himself was heavily criticised for his non-existent link-up play in the past. He has worked on his game and has become a more rounded player in the past couple of seasons. If he can work on his shortcomings, the same should be expected from the other Manchester City players. It is now time for the rest of City’s attackers to take responsibility and pretend that Haaland is not going through a sublime form.
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Manchester City Have a String of Challenging Fixtures Coming Up
The Cityzens will take on Swansea FC in the EFL Cup this week before locking horns with AFC Bournemouth, who are second in the league table at the moment, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in their next few matches.
It is going to be a challenging set of matches for Guardiola’s men. Erling Haaland’s form might help them in those matches, but it has to be a team effort for them to succeed in the long run. It now remains to be seen whether the other players are able to step up their game.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sportsphoto
Recording Date: 26.10.2025