LONDON: Erling Haaland pushed aside a television camera after the final whistle of Manchester City’s 1-1 home draw with Chelsea, his frustration spilling over after he took nine shots but scored no goals for the first time in his Premier League career.
Rodri netted a late equaliser to salvage a 1-1 Premier League home draw for the champions against Chelsea as they avoided their 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 last weekend to reclaim sole possession of the league scoring lead with 16 goals.
City remained third in the table on 53 points, four behind leaders Liverpool and two adrift of Arsenal, but with a game in hand. They can climb to second with victory over visiting Brentford on Tuesday.
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.
Pep Guardiola’s team, unbeaten in their last nine league games, remained third in the table on 53 points, four behind leaders Liverpool and two adrift of Arsenal, but with a game in hand – against Brentford on Tuesday.
City’s decision to park in Chelsea’s half proved costly as Nicolas Jackson’s deft flick began a counter-attack in the 42nd minute. He sent a perfect pass behind the defence to Raheem Sterling, who rounded City defender Kyle Walker and curled the ball past keeper Ederson to score against his former team.
“We countered them well so I think it is a fair result in the end,” Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher told Sky. “The lads were brilliant and defensively we were very focused. We were very tired but we saw it through and we are happy with the performance.”
After numerous near-misses that had the City fans holding their heads in frustration, Rodri equalised in the 83rd minute after Walker’s shot was blocked with a thunderous shot that deflected off Trevoh Chalobah into the net.
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