Guardiola says he's incapable of teaching Haaland: 'I scored 11 goals in 11 years'

Manchester City, featuring Rúben Dias from the start and Bernardo Silva as a substitute (entering at the 64th minute), ended up drawing 1-1 with Chelsea at home on Saturday.

This result saw them miss a crucial opportunity to potentially overtake Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, had they capitalized on their game in hand and secured a victory.

The game, part of the Premier League's 25th round, proved particularly challenging for Erling Haaland, who, despite making nine attempts on goal, failed to find the back of the net. This marked his most attempts without scoring in a game since joining City in 2022, highlighting an unusual day at the office for the prolific striker.

In the post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola, City's manager, was asked about Haaland's performance and the missed chances. Guardiola, refusing to lay the blame on Haaland—who leads the league's scoring charts with 16 goals in 19 games—highlighted his own lackluster scoring record as a player to illustrate why he may not be the best person to offer scoring advice. "It's good that he had nine attempts, he will score in the next game. Listen, when I was a football player, I played for 11 years and scored 11 goals. What a statistic, huh? I scored one goal per season, those were my stats. So, I'm not the right person to give advice to a forward on what to do," Guardiola commented, emphasizing the importance of creating opportunities and maintaining faith in Haaland's ability to score in future games.

Despite the draw, Guardiola believed that his team deserved to win, pointing out that they only managed to equalize late in the game through a goal from Rodri in the 83rd minute. He critiqued the team's performance in the first half but praised their reaction and the quality of play in the second half, especially after conceding a goal.

This draw leaves City temporarily in third place in the Premier League standings with 53 points, trailing behind Arsenal in second place with 55 points and leaders Liverpool with 57 points, both of whom have played an additional game and secured wins in their respective matches on Saturday.

Chelsea, on the other hand, moved up to tenth place with 35 points following the draw. This match underscores the competitive nature of the Premier League, where every game can have significant implications for the title race and positions in the standings.