Manchester City have a strange Erling Haaland hoodoo to break this weekend when they face Crystal Palace at Wembley in the FA Cup final.
Comments
Sport
Erling Haaland has never scored at Wembley for Manchester City - an unwanted statistic he will be looking to change this weekend in the FA Cup final.
Erling Haaland scores wherever he plays. And if he doesn't get on the scoresheet at a particular stadium, his record shows that he won't need many more visits to put that right.
In fact, in his ridiculous Manchester City career so far, he has scored at 28 of the 36 away grounds he has visited. Five of those have been one-off visits (Istanbul, Athens, Dortmund, Sporting and Juventus) and three have seen him blank in two separate games (RB Leipzig, Brentford, Real Madrid).
In general, Haaland masters every new venue he plays. Apart from one.
Having plundered 71 of his 120 City goals at the Etihad, the 38th ground where Haaland has played for the Blues has proven his most difficult.
Wembley Stadium: Five visits. No goals.
It is the ground where Haaland has played more than any other bar the Etihad for City. Two FA Cup finals, one semi-final and two Community Shields. Yet the most visits to any other ground without scoring is just two - and his record in finals for City is not any better.
In seven finals for City across the Champions League, FA Cup, Community Shield and Super Cup, Haaland is yet to score. Include semi-finals and the record is 10 games, no goals.
Why does Haaland not score in the games that matter most?
In his defence, the nature of those finals and semi-finals are that they are tight, cautious affairs. Defences will pay more attention to stopping him and his supply knowing how dangerous he is - and if the opposition are in a final setting they are often better equipped to do that. His opponents at Wembley have been Manchester United and Arsenal while he made his English debut against Liverpool in the 2022 Community Shield.
The only exception to that rule is a blank against Championship outfit Sheffield United in the 2023 FA Cup semi-final - with the defence to that particular game being that Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick and Haaland was taken off directly after the third goal in a bid to save his legs for the rest of the treble run-in. That is also the only Wembley appearance for Haaland that hasn't been settled by either a single goal or on penalties. As you would expect, it is harder to score at Wembley.
In the seven finals, he has six shots on target and six off target, averaging 1.7 shots on goal per game. This season, for example, he averages four shots per game, so he gets fewer opportunities in these games. Against Arsenal and Manchester United in successive Wembley Community Shields, Haaland didn't even attempt a single shot - an instant explanation for why he is yet to break his duck at Wembley.
The stat may sit in the back of Pep Guardiola's head when debating how to set his side up against Crystal Palace this weekend, given the frustrating afternoon in Southampton last time out when Haaland just didn't get the space or support from the system that had gone unbeaten without him.
Guardiola used his substitutes to add more width and bodies around Haaland which almost unlocked the stubborn defence, although there must be part of him which rewards the Omar Marmoush-led system that did so well against Nottingham Forest and others. Dropping Haaland feels extremely unlikely - but not completely out of the question.
And then another thought will probably knock that idea out of his head. One not necessarily backed up by a specific statistic and more an inevitability: never ever write Haaland off.
He breaks records and curses for a living, so perhaps that makes him even more dangerous against Crystal Palace. Six goals in four games against Palace is another reason to remind ourselves that for every statistic that paints Haaland in a negative light there are plenty more that show the true picture.
Content Image
Content Image
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
*And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.*