'Everyone hasn't been good enough' - Haaland on 'horrific' season

Reaching the FA Cup final at Wembley and being in a strong position to secure Champions League qualification would be a great campaign for many teams. Not for Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola's side have been English champions in each of the past four seasons and conquered Europe in 2023, but have fallen short in 2024-25.

They are fourth in the Premier League, 18 points behind title winners Liverpool, their hopes of winning a second Champions League in three seasons were ended at the hands of Real Madrid in the knockout play-offs, and they lost to Tottenham in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

But the FA Cup could still provide them with something to celebrate.

City take on Crystal Palace on Saturday, 17 May at Wembley, where they started the campaign by beating Manchester United on penalties to win the Community Shield in August.

"This season has been tough," striker Erling Haaland told BBC Sport. "It is not nice to lose so many games, it is boring and not fun. That's why we need to finish well and get a trophy.

"It is a good habit to reach Wembley and always important to win trophies. We have the FA Cup final to play for and in a horrific season we still managed to do this, that says it all.

"When you have won four league titles in a row, if you don't win five it's not going to be a successful season. Those are the standards we have set. We haven't done good enough in the league but still hoping for Champions League qualification.

"Crystal Palace are a really difficult club to play against. At Selhurst Park we drew [2-2 in December] and they started really well at the Etihad [in City's 5-2 win last month]. They are an amazing team with quality players."

You can watch the full interview in BBC's live FA Cup final coverage from 15:25 BST on Saturday on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online.

Haaland joined City in a £51.2m deal from Borussia Dortmund in June 2022, with the Norwegian's goals helping Pep Guardiola's side to win two Premier Leagues, the Champions League, an FA Cup and a Uefa Super Cup.

On a personal level, he has won the Golden Boot for being the top scorer in the Premier League in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, when he scored 36 and 27 league goals respectively.

He started this season in similar fashion with 10 goals in his first five matches, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham United.

But Haaland has only scored 11 goals in 23 league matches since then, with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah set to finish the campaign as top scorer.

"We haven't been stable enough this season and we haven't won enough games, it is as simple as that," added the 24-year-old.

"We have to perform better in the big games. We haven't won enough consecutive games.

"Of course, we have had injuries throughout the season. But we should not search for excuses.

"Every single one of us hasn't been good enough and we haven't been at our best, so when you are not at your best you aren't going to win games in this country because it's so hard."

Haaland has been one of those players to have suffered with injury.

An ankle problem sustained in the 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth at the end of March kept him out of action for more than a month, before he returned in City's 0-0 draw at bottom-placed Southampton on Saturday.

To quicken his recovery, he uses red-light therapy, which is when infrared rays penetrate deep into tissues and joints to help prevent injuries.

"In England when there is not so much sun, you have to try and get your red light from somewhere else," said Haaland.

"It is about optimising the main things: training, sleep, to eat as clean as possible and do things that affect your recovery in the best way. The club pays a lot of money and the least I can do is try and get back as quick as possible.

"It has been horrible to get injured. It is not nice to see the team play but you have to make the best out of it and try to come back as quick as possible.

"You can't focus too much on the past because you can't do too much about it. All you can focus on is looking ahead. I am really happy to be back. Loads of energy."

The cup final against Palace will be one last Wembley appearance with City for midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, with the 33-year-old Belgium international leaving the club on a free transfer in the summer when his contract expires.

De Bruyne has won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and the League Cup on five occasions while at City.

He is second in the list of most assists in the Premier League era, with 119 assists, behind only former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs on 162.

"We would love for Kevin to finish with a trophy," said Haaland.

"He has had an incredible time at Manchester City, it is ridiculous how many trophies he has won. Hopefully he will get one more trophy.

"He ranks right up there for me. To get the balls from him is a dream. It has been really special playing with him. Such a joy, and I am going to do everything I can to have this joy in the last few games.

"The future will be different with different players. When Kevin leaves we will need someone to replace him, although Kevin is irreplaceable in so many ways."

Haaland helped City win the 2023 FA Cup final and the Community Shield in August, although they were not his first trips to Wembley.

Back in 2014, when he was only 13, he visited the national stadium to watch City beat Sunderland 3-1 in the League Cup final, with his father Alf Inge, a former City midfielder, sitting next to him.

"It is just as special to go to Wembley," said the striker. "I have seen City win in the stands, have won as a player, and hopefully we can win there again."