Erling Haaland misfired against Chelsea, but Pep Guardiola assured him that he will reach the back of the net the next time.

The No. 9 for Manchester City had nine attempts in the 1-1 draw—his highest number in the Premier League—but he failed to score and missed a clear header from close range when the Blues were still down. Rodri equalized late on when his shot was deflected in, achieving a rematch of his performance from the season’s first meeting at Stamford Bridge.

After a frustrating day’s work, Haaland pushed a camera aside, but Guardiola showed little inclination to reprimand his star striker. Even though City may have won the match if the Norwegian had scored, they might have performed better as a team in the first half, having prevented Chelsea from taking the lead.”It’s good to have nine shots and next time he’s going to score,” he stated. “I used to play football. I made 11 goals throughout my 11 years of playing.

That’s one season’s aim. I’m not a suitable man to advise strikers based on my stats. He will score the next time because we generate the opportunities. “I hold him not responsible. Football is being played. We weren’t like this in the first half as a squad or a group. No one is going to provide it to us, which is why the demands are so high. We must take every necessary action. It has happened in the past and it will happen again in this season. Since we are Man City, we must always look out for ourselves. I said as much from the start.

“We need to play better in the first half, and we performed amazing in the second. Overall, after we gave in, it was excellent.