Erling Haaland: Title race ‘not over until it’s over’ after Man City reduce gap
Haaland’s first Premier League goal at Anfield means City have the chance to reduce the gap at the top to just three points with victory over Fulham.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland insisted the title race “is not over until it’s over” after his added-time penalty at Liverpool kept his side in contention.
With six minutes remaining, their hopes looked over as they trailed to Dominik Szoboszlai’s brilliant free-kick and even Bernardo Silva’s equaliser would have left them eight points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
However, Haaland’s first league goal at Anfield means Pep Guardiola’s side have the chance to reduce the gap to just three with victory at home to Fulham on Wednesday, 24 hours before the Gunners go to high-flying Brentford.
The Norway international tried to play down the importance of the victory but had to accept it was significant, saying: “It’s three points, simple as that, no matter who you play, if it is Tottenham or whatever.
“But I know what you mean. Yes, definitely, it’s true (it was crucial).
“We’ve seen before that the title race is not over until it’s over.
“Right now I need to focus on Fulham because there’s still many games.”
Haaland is the Premier League’s leading scorer this season with 21 but his Anfield penalty was only his second league goal since Christmas and just third in 13 matches.
The striker scored in all but two of his first 20 games for club and country as he amassed 30 goals in a brilliant run at the start of the season but the goals have dried up since late December and he accepts there is a responsibility on him to start delivering again.
“Of course I haven’t scored enough goals since the start of this year and I know that I need to improve,” Haaland added.
“I know I need to be more sharp, better at all of this and this is something that I have to work on.
“I have to keep going because this is what everyone deserves and expects.
“I don’t want to speak about why I haven’t performed. I don’t think there’s any excuse. Fatigue is a lot in the head.
“It’s a lot of games. Look at the schedule, it’s not easy and for me, it’s about staying fit, that’s the most important thing and trying to be ready to help the team.”
