** Villa Upset Man City: Haaland’s Goal Drought Exposes City’s Struggles **

** Manchester City’s nine-game unbeaten run ended at Aston Villa, where Erling Haaland’s goal drought continued. Pep Guardiola called for his team to “step up,” as City’s reliance on Haaland was exposed in a 1-0 defeat. **

By Chris Posiano

October 26, 2025 at 11:20 PM

7,338 views

Manchester City’s winning streak came to an abrupt end at Villa Park as Erling Haaland’s 12-game scoring run was halted, leaving manager Pep Guardiola demanding improvement from his team. A well-taken first-half strike from Matty Cash secured Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory, their second win over City at home in a year.

Haaland, who had netted 24 goals for club and country before this match, squandered a golden opportunity to equalize just minutes after Cash’s opener. His low shot was smothered by Emiliano Martinez, and a late header was plucked from the air by the Villa goalkeeper. When Haaland finally beat Martinez in stoppage time, his effort was ruled out for offside, and he limped off after colliding with the post—a fitting end to City’s frustrating afternoon.

Guardiola acknowledged City’s attacking shortcomings, saying, We haven’t scored a lot of goals this season and we have to make a step up. The manager’s concern is valid—Haaland leads the team with 11 league goals, while City’s next highest scorer is Burnley’s Maxime Esteve, who scored twice against them in a different match. No City player besides Haaland has more than one goal this season.

Villa manager Unai Emery praised his side’s defensive resilience, saying, We tried tactically and in individual performance to get duels with him, intelligently, with the power we showed. The strategy worked, as Villa’s disciplined defense and Martinez’s key saves denied City a vital equalizer.

The defeat leaves City fifth in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Arsenal. Guardiola brushed off title talk, insisting, Our job is not to watch the title. If they win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulate them. However, captain Bernardo Silva criticized the team’s pressing, calling it really bad and conceding that players were two seconds late to every duel. With City’s next match against high-flying Bournemouth, Guardiola must decide whether to rely on new signings like Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki to ease Haaland’s burden.

As the Premier League race heats up, City’s over-reliance on Haaland has been exposed. With Haaland out of goals and City’s supporting cast unable to step up, Guardiola faces an uphill battle to reclaim the title.