Erling erupts after bad day at the office

MANCHESTER, England — Erling Haaland pushed aside a television camera after the final whistle on Saturday, his frustration spilling over after he took nine shots but scored no goals for the first time in his Manchester City career.

Rodri netted a late equalizer to salvage a 1-1 Premier League home draw for the champion against Chelsea as it avoided its first loss at the Etihad in 15 months.

"That's good, it's good to have nine shots," City manager Pep Guardiola said. "Next game he is going to score. I was a football player, I played 11 years, I scored 11 goals. One goal a season. It's football, it's human beings."

As the players gathered on the pitch after the final whistle, Haaland pushed aside a live TV camera focused on the striker's face.

Haaland, who rewrote the scoring record books in his Premier League debut season last year, continued his prolific form before a broken foot sidelined him for nearly two months.

He scored twice in City's 2-0 win over Everton the previous weekend to reclaim sole possession of the league scoring lead with 16 goals.

City remained third in the table on 53 points, four behind leader Liverpool and two adrift of Arsenal, but with a game in hand. It can climb to second with victory over visiting Brentford on Tuesday.

"If Haaland put away the chances we're not even talking about this," former City player Micah Richards said on Sky Sports.

"I never worry about Haaland, his mentality is completely different to most strikers in world football. He always gets an opportunity," he added. "He misses a lot of chances ... if he wasn't getting these chances, that's when I would be worried."

The 23-year-old Norwegian looked frustrated all game long, sending two headers over the crossbar before hitting a volley just wide. His best chance was a late unmarked close-range header he sent over the bar before burying his head in disbelief.

Many City fans around the world did the same.

Midfielder Rodri's 83rd-minute goal extended the defending champion's unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games.

"We played incredible in the second half. The first half was not our levels," Guardiola said, "but to compete against them teams you have to play 90 minutes not just one half."

Former City forward Raheem Sterling gave Chelsea the lead when curling home in the 42nd.

He had the chance to extend the visitor's advantage after the break, but was denied by City goalkeeper Ederson from point-blank range.

Ederson then recovered to get to his feet and save from Ben Chilwell on the rebound.

City saw a host of chances go by as it went in search of an equalizer, with Haaland missing twice from close range and Kevin De Bruyne curling a freekick just over the bar.

The defending champion eventually found the breakthrough when Rodri blasted goalward from inside the box and his effort deflected off Trevoh Chalobah past Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic.

Haaland cut a frustrated figure after nine attempts on goal saw him fail to find the back of the net. It was his most shots without success in a match for City.

By contrast, Sterling came back to haunt Guardiola after leaving City for Chelsea in 2022, following seven trophy-filled years in Manchester.

His curled finish looked for a long time like being enough to secure all three points for Mauricio Pochettino's team.

Even though City rallied to draw, Sterling still delivered a blow to his former club's hopes of winning the title.

"At the end we can be pleased, but at the same time we're a little bit disappointed. We had chances to finish the game off," Sterling said. "We knew they're a team who use the ball really well and that there would be times when we need to use our brains. We're disappointed not to come away with a bit more."

The draw continued a positive run for Chelsea and will ease the pressure on Pochettino ahead of this weekend's League Cup final against Liverpool in a disappointing league campaign.

"I'm so pleased. I told the players I feel so proud," Pochettino said. "In the last three games we've started to create a very good spirit. That's the way we want to build our team. Today was a very good opportunity to show we're going where we want."

Agencies