Pep Guardiola joke masks unwanted Erling Haaland truth Man City cannot hide from

Pep Guardiola laughed off the idea that Erling Haaland needs a break after footage of an apparent injury emerged from training this week.

Haaland went down in front of the cameras, holding his shin before smiling with Phil Foden and carrying on the session as normal. Was this Haaland letting the media in on an inside joke? Was he actually briefly injured before realising the cameras were on?

We will never know, but Guardiola dismissed the media attention around the 'injury' as a desperate need for news around the clock where it doesn't exist, and Haaland played 90 minutes the following day at Sporting as City slumped to a dismal defeat.

ALSO READ: Pep Guardiola's latest future hint significant amid looming November 'deadline'

ALSO READ: Mixed Man City injury update emerges as huge John Stones update given

That game didn't exactly go to plan. Haaland had chances in an open game but was either wasteful or denied by good goalkeeping (or the crossbar from 12 yards). It followed a similar outing at Bournemouth where City's struggles extended to their star striker. He has helped them out of off-days countless times over the last two-and-a-bit seasons, but it just hasn't fallen for him this week.

Not to worry, he still has 14 goals in 14 games this term and City would be 11 points worse off in the Premier League without his goals. Haaland isn't the problem.

But it is fair to point out Haaland's slowing goal rate while also accepting his overall contributions to the team. He has failed to score in six of the last 10 games, perhaps poor by his standards, yet has five goals in that period which would be acceptable for most other strikers.

Since his last goal - the falling-down effort against Southampton - he has had 17 shots across almost three games, eight of which were on target. Against Sporting, Bournemouth and Southampton he underperformed his expected goals figure by 4.46 goals.

That figure includes the penalty he smashed onto the bar, which summed up his recent frustrations. At Sporting, he was first down the tunnel at full-time and was visibly annoyed at another blank and another defeat. It's fair to state the facts that after so many games restricted to half-chances and contending with multiple defenders around him, his conversion rate has slowed.

Is it because he is playing too much? Perhaps - Guardiola refused to bring him off the bench in defeat at Tottenham to save his legs for Bournemouth, and when asked that very question about a rest he joked: "I don't think so. Maybe international games he can rest...”

In the past, he's answered similar questions by reminding the media, and Haaland, that the striker had a full summer off. Guardiola knows full well that Haaland won't be rested for Norway next week.

In an ideal world, City would have won these games comfortably and Haaland could be rested in-game. It's a catch-22 situation because had he scored the chances he normally puts away, that opportunity would have been possible and City wouldn't have lost three on the trot.

City and Guardiola need Haaland to get them out of their slump and he will start at Brighton unless he has picked up a genuine injury. With the whole season taken as a whole, Haaland has exactly the amount of goals that his xG figures would suggest.

It isn't as simple as saying Haaland returning to scoring form will get City back to winning ways. But it would certainly help.