After a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa, striker Erling Haaland, who has only scored once in his last six games, discussed the need for improvement in a difficult performance. Pep Guardiola, the team’s manager, is still hopeful that they can recover and get back to their previous level of play.

Villa put City through a difficult test on Saturday after taking the lead early on thanks to a goal from Jhon Duran. In the 65th minute, Villa’s lead was increased by Morgan Rogers, leaving City reeling. Guardiola’s team has suffered nine defeats in their past 12 games, and despite a late goal from Phil Foden in stoppage time, City was unable to erase the gap as Villa took fifth place in the Premier League standings.

In light of the team’s recent performance, Guardiola underlined the importance of perseverance and patience. “We have strong personalities in the squad, and we will eventually find our rhythm again,” he said to TNT Sports. He did not hold back from praising the caliber of the team coached by fellow Spaniard Unai Emery. He went on to say, “Congratulations to Aston Villa; they are solid in their mid-block,” adding that City had produced more opportunities than they had against Manchester United in their last game. “But we gave up too late because our pressing in the second half was subpar.”

This most recent loss has sparked worries about Haaland, a striker who was essential to City’s prior victories but has now gone through a slump. We are disappointed, of course. It’s not good enough or acceptable on my end,” he said. “I have to do better,” Haaland said, stressing introspection. I need to do better since I’ve lost too many opportunities.

The Norwegian international, however, is still optimistic about Guardiola’s capacity to make things better. “We must never forget that he has won six times in seven years,” Haaland said. “He’ll figure out the solution. We simply need to put in more effort than ever right now because he has done so consistently.