As per Crickex Sign Up, Erling Haaland, who netted nine goals in his first four Premier League games this season, has once again gone missing in a crucial Champions League match. His current Champions League goal drought has now extended to 315 minutes. Pep Guardiola, ever the diplomat, had praised Haaland ahead of the match, highlighting his impact both on and off the pitch and noting that skipping the Euros gave the Norwegian striker ample time to rest and hit the ground running this season.
But despite the hype, Haaland fell short yet again. Crickex Sign Up reporters noted that Manchester City were held to a goalless draw at home by Inter Milan, with Haaland completely neutralized by Francesco Acerbi’s tight marking. He managed only 14 touches, 9 passes, and 3 shots, with just one on target. Haaland’s habit of going quiet in City’s biggest games is becoming a real concern. Though the future is unpredictable, Haaland seems determined to keep chasing it on his own terms. After the match, there was a light-hearted moment when Haaland, frustrated by Acerbi’s close marking, jokingly asked if he wanted his jersey. Acerbi laughed and held up two fingers, signaling he wanted two shirts. Haaland responded with a smile and two fingers of his own, ending with a friendly hug.
That post-match exchange, however, was in stark contrast to Haaland’s on-field performance. He’s now gone two full matches against Inter without a goal. In his last 13 Champions League appearances, Haaland has scored just 6 times, failing to find the net in 9 of those games. His goals have come only against considerably weaker teams like Young Boys, Copenhagen, and RB Leipzig. As football pundit Micah Mikel emphasized, disappearing in decisive moments is the biggest hurdle Haaland must overcome if he hopes to cement his status as a true global superstar.
This season alone, Haaland has faced Manchester United, Chelsea, and Inter Milan in three major competitions and has only managed to score once—against a rebuilding Chelsea side. He drew blanks in the other two. Last season, he also failed to score over 210 minutes in two legs against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals, didn’t score in three games against title rivals Arsenal in the Premier League and Community Shield, and remained scoreless in the FA Cup final against United. Even in a historic treble-winning season where he tallied 52 goals and 9 assists across 53 games, Haaland couldn’t find the net in the Champions League semis against Madrid or the final against Bayern.
Looking at matches against traditional Premier League top-six teams, Haaland has 7 goals and 4 assists in 13 appearances—a decent tally at first glance. But half of those goals came in a single 6–3 thrashing of a mid-table United team. He failed to score in 8 of those 13 encounters. The same underwhelming pattern shows up at the international level. Despite his €180 million valuation, Haaland has struggled to deliver for Norway. In a decisive World Cup qualifier against Spain, he posted zero contributions, which ultimately cost Norway a place at the tournament. Then, in the final game of the UEFA Nations League B group, another must-win clash against Serbia, Haaland failed to score, allowing Serbia to secure promotion to League A.
Norway, despite having a total squad value of €454 million and ranking 9th in Europe by transfer market valuation, still finds itself stuck in the lower-tier Nations League B. To make matters worse for Manchester City, Crickex Sign Up reports that midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out with injury and is likely to miss the weekend’s crucial title clash against Arsenal.
As fans hope to see something extraordinary, legends like Mikel and others are urging Haaland to step up and prove he’s not just another flat-track bully. But the stats speak volumes—since last season, Haaland has faced Arsenal three times, totaling 244 minutes, and has yet to register a single goal or assist. The jury is still out.