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Erling Haaland's struggles in front of goal come from playing in "the most difficult position on the planet", says Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Haaland has twice won the Premier League Golden Boot and netted 19 times in the first 17 league matches of this campaign to put himself in prime position to achieve that for a third time.
He still leads the way, but the Norway striker has lost form in the second half of the season, scoring only three times in 12 league games in 2026.
Another blank came in the 1-1 draw at West Ham on Saturday, a costly result in the context of the title race.
Guardiola says Haaland scoring fewer goals comes from him being one of the most marked men in the division.
"I didn't see fatigue in the last 20 minutes, it was an issue with tempo and rhythm," Guardiola said at London Stadium.
"Do you know how many central defenders were around him today? 200 million. Do you know how many holding midfielders? It is the most difficult position on the planet."
The result against West Ham puts City nine points behind leaders Arsenal with eight matches to play.
Other theories attached to Haaland's drop-off have included City's change in system - they have played with two strikers in nine of the last 11 matches - as well as fatigue with Guardiola's team competing in four competitions.
Haaland has played 41 club matches already this season and has missed only one league game.
West Ham switched to a three-man central defence against City, while defensive midfielder Soungoutou Magassa was brought on to stifle Haaland further in the second half.
In his past 12 league games, Haaland has had 36 shots, managing just an 8% conversion rate.
City lined up in a 4-3-1-2 system against West Ham, with Haaland partnering Omar Marmoush in attack and Antoine Semenyo as the number 10.
It suited none of the players, least of all Haaland who was crowded out, and City switched to a 4-3-3 for the second half.
Despite their tactical issues, Guardiola says they will give everything against Madrid at Etihad Stadium - and says all City's players are ready too.
"If they don't believe, it is a problem," he said of their European task. "If you don't believe when you are in the Champions League, go home. What do we have to lose?
"It was a tough result [in the first leg]. We will not sit back and see what happens, we will try to propulse, in respect for the fans. We have a team to score two, three, four.
"But if not, we still have the Premier League, the FA Cup, and next season we know what we will have to do, next season we will be back."
