Not over - Pep retains PL title hope but admits Haaland problem

Pep Guardiola refused to concede the Premier League crown despite Manchester City dropping nine points behind leaders Arsenal, yet acknowledged that a blunt attack and Erling Haaland’s sudden scoring drought are undermining any realistic prospect of a late surge.

City’s 1-1 draw at West Ham on Saturday, sealed by a Hammers equaliser from their only shot of the match, left the champions with eight fixtures remaining and a game in hand. Guardiola had declared on Friday that further slip-ups would end the race; he softened that stance after the final whistle but could not mask the scale of the task.

“No, it’s not over,” he told TNT Sports. “We didn’t lose. We continue.”

Speaking later, the Catalan praised his squad for exceeding expectations following last season’s distant third-place finish, but warned the project remains incomplete. “From the beginning we grow a lot but it’s not the finished business,” he said.

Inconsistency has haunted the run-in. Seven days after Guardiola lauded City’s “best-ever” display in a FA Cup triumph at Newcastle, the side produced a listless 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid and the disjointed draw in east London. Guardiola labelled the sequence symptomatic of a wider problem: “We need the creativity and we’re struggling this season. We had to be better in the final third.”

The numbers illustrate the malaise. Although City sit second in the Premier League scoring chart, just one goal behind Arsenal, they have repeatedly failed to break down deep-lying defences. West Ham joined Nottingham Forest in illustrating the point; the visitors scored with their solitary effort, while Forest had previously converted two of four shots at the Etihad to steal a draw.

Central to the concern is Erling Haaland. The Norwegian plundered 19 goals in his opening 17 league appearances yet has managed only three in the last 12. He was absent for the vibrant win at Newcastle, shot-shy in Madrid and starved of service against West Ham, where he spurned three first-half chances.

“The lack of goals, we miss him of course,” Guardiola admitted. “Erling, we need his goals. We have to create that threat that sometimes we didn’t have.”

The manager insists the solution lies in improved connections across the front line rather than individual blame, yet conceded the clock is a rival City can no longer control. With Arsenal holding the advantage and time running short, Guardiola clings to hope, even while recognising the standards that once defined his side have slipped at the decisive moment.