Pep Guardiola defends Erling Haaland's form after the striker provided a brutal assessment of his lack of scoring following Man City's ninth loss in 12 matches

Pep Guardiola has defender Erling Haaland after the striker shouldered the blame for Manchester City’s dismal run.

The Norwegian striker once again failed to score in City’s defeat at Aston Villa, meaning he has only netted three goals in his last 12 Premier League games.

He has played the full 90 minutes in all but one game during City’s dismal run of form in which they have won just one match in 12, losing nine of them.

Guardiola stuck up for his striker in the aftermath of their sixth league defeat of the season, stating without Haaland his side would ‘be even worse’.

And Guardiola doubled down on his comments on Christmas Eve, making a point of not singling out the forward in what has been his worst period in charge of the champions.

‘It’s about us, not just one player,’ said Guardiola. ‘When in the past we score goals and Erling was so prolific, helping us, it was because of the team.

Haaland has only scored three goals in 12 league matches, failing to score again at Aston Villa

Man City’s loss at Villa Park made it nine defeats in their last 12 games in all competitions

‘When you have problems at the back, in the middle, it is for everyone, it is a team, it is not about one player. It would be easy, if it was just one player, the reason why. It’s not about that.

‘Erling is so important for us, will be so important for us, has been. (We have to) try to do things better, to use him better.’

Haaland has netted 108 goals in 122 matches since joining City in 2022, winning the Premier League Golden Boot in his first two seasons.

However, the Norwegian’s goal drought has seen him drop two goals behind Mohamed Salah in the league scoring charts this season.

While the majority of City’s stars have been struggling since the beginning of November, Haaland was quick to take the majority of the blame following his side’s defeat at Villa Park.

‘It affects us all, of course,’ Haaland said on Saturday. ‘It affects me. I haven’t been good enough and I haven’t delivered for City this season.

‘I need to step up and work harder, I just need to get better. It just isn’t good enough. I will do everything I can to do better.

‘We’re not able to win matches anymore, we can’t control matches like we used to. We used to control matches way more.

Haaland’s poor run of form has seen him overtaken by Mohamed Salah in the scoring charts

City have lost six of their last eight Premier League games leaving them seventh in the table

Guardiola is hoping they can find their mojo again when they play Everton on Boxing Day

‘In the defining moments I’m failing to score, in the defining moments we’re conceding goals. The margins are small and that’s how it is, I will do everything I can to turn this around.’

City will be looking to end their rotten run when they face Everton on Boxing Day, and Guardiola is hopeful that his side can rediscover the mojo that has led them to a multitude of successes since he walked through the door in 2016.

‘In this situation, this tendency for all of us (is to say) ‘the reason why is this one, and this one and this one’ It’s about us, about everyone,’ added Guardiola.

‘The guys are running, making effort more than ever. All the tendency “it’s because we don’t run, because we don’t fight, the reason why is this situation or this player or this manager”. It’s not about that.

‘It’s many little details or big details that make all together not as good as we were. But we have another opportunity on Boxing Day.’