The Norwegian has 28 goals in all competitions already this season ahead of our Champions League last-16 second leg with FC Copenhagen on Wednesday night at 20:00 (UK).
Haaland has seven goals in his last four appearances, including a second five-goal haul for City in the FA Cup victory over Luton Town to take his overall total to a phenomenal 80 goals following his arrival in the summer of 2022.
Much was made of his miss from close range in the Manchester derby but his clinical finish late in the game secured a 3-1 victory over United and he says missing opportunities is part of the game.
“You can think in two ways: last year I got 36 [in the Premier League] and this year I have 18,” Haaland said at his prematch news conference.
“You can think whether it’s good or not for me. I think it’s been a good season.
“I’ve missed a lot of chances. I will keep on missing chances and I will still score goals.
“I will miss chances in the future and people will criticise me. I will focus on scoring more goals and trying to score.”
CITY V FC COPENHAGEN | MATCH PREVIEW
Still only 23, Haaland has had a remarkable goalscoring record throughout his career and is already in the top 20 for all-time Champions League goalscorers with 40 in total.
But he said he used to get upset when he missed chances when he was younger and has worked on not letting it affect him.
“It was a challenge for me when I was young,” Haaland added. “I would start crying if we lost and I missed a lot of chances.
“I’ve been working a lot and I demand of lot of myself, my teammates and the manager demand a lot from me. At the end, everything is in here. So far, so good.
“It’s something I’ve been working naturally on. Everything in life, if you overthink it, it’s not good. If you have stress, it’s not good.
“My life is about football so that’s what I focus on. I have one career, my focus is to be the best player I can be.”
Had his career worked out differently, Haaland could have been playing for the visitors at the Etihad having had a trial with FC Copenhagen when he was younger.
“I was on trial in 2016 and a couple of guys wanted me then but it didn’t happen,” he said.
“Sad for them. I like the club, it’s a nice club. I have friends who play for them, they enjoy it.
“I spoke with [former boss] Stale [Solbakken] and got a shirt with number nine that I have at home.
“It never happened and my destiny was another way. It’s worked out so far.”
