It was always going to happen.

After nine goals in four games, Erling Haaland was always going to slow down his goalscoring. Even for him, it's just not possible to score a hat-trick every game.

Pep Guardiola has highlighted the issues facing the striker that are stopping him from finding the net so regularly. Against Inter Milan, Guardiola pointed out that Haaland had six players around him. He was up against the best (or second-best) defensive partnership in the Premier League against Arsenal.

Newcastle barely gave him a sniff in a defensive game, while Fulham, too, defended deep to try and keep him out. Even when he scored in Bratislava, Haaland was an onlooker for most of the contest - only getting his chance when the defence switched off in the second half.

But that one chance is all he needs, and he was unlucky against Fulham with a handful of first half efforts. When the Cottagers became wise to his tendency to drop a few yards, Haaland's impact was reduced.

He has two goals in five games now after his electric start. Not a concern, but a notable contrast with his weekly hat-tricks at the start of the season. The level of opposition must be accounted for, and Haaland's teammates have also noticed his unseen contributions that are helping them through a tricky set of fixtures.

"Sometimes been a bit unlucky this season but having a forward who can score that amount of goals is always helpful," Jeremy Doku explained. "He's having a great season. Today he didn't score, I'm surprised, honestly I know the next games he will score a lot of goals for us and help us a lot.

"Even his last goal [vs Bratislava] was a long ball that he created with his head and played into Rico [Lewis]. This helps us, especially when we're playing very deep. It's important, even when he doesn't score goals. Imagine today when he doesn't score, he's still very helpful. Maybe people don't see that but for us it's very important."

Haaland will now captain Norway on international duty, before returning to City for a favourable set of games against Wolves, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Bournemouth and Sporting. It won't be long before his current 'blip' is long forgotten.