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Southampton know that keeping Erling Haaland quiet will be crucial to any hope of upsetting Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup semifinal, yet history may be on the Saints' side, as the Norwegian has yet to find the net in semifinals or finals throughout his entire City career.
Haaland heads into Saturday's semifinal showdown against Southampton boasting a remarkable record of 159 goals in 193 appearances for Man City. There's no question the 25-year-old Norwegian ranks among the finest strikers on the planet right now, yet it's equally true that he has consistently struggled to deliver when the stakes are highest.
Erling Haaland Stats for Man City in Semifinals / Finals
Competition | Semifinal Games Played | Finals Played | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
Champions League | 2 | 1 | 0 |
FA Cup | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Carabao Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Community Shield | 0 | 3 | 0 |
UEFA Super Cup | 0 | 1 | 0 |
The statistics tell the story. Across 13 appearances for City in semifinals or finals, Haaland has yet to get his name on the scoresheet while wearing sky blue. To compound matters further, he has also failed to contribute a single assist across those matches.
You have to look back to the brace Haaland netted in Borussia Dortmund's 4–1 victory over RB Leipzig in the 2021 DFB Pokal (German Cup) final to find the last occasion he scored in a title-deciding match. Remarkably, Haaland has never scored a semifinal goal throughout his professional career — a trend Southampton will be desperate to see continue on Saturday.
As if that troubling precedent weren't enough, Haaland will also be tasked with breaking his drought at what has become his personal house of horrors.
Erling Haaland's Wembley Woes
Wembley Stadium is one of football's most storied venues, yet it has undeniably become Haaland's personal kryptonite. Across seven appearances the Norwegian has made at the iconic London ground, he has yet to score a single goal.
It's not as though he's come particularly close, either; Haaland has managed just three shots on target from nine total attempts throughout his Wembley career. He has lifted three trophies with City at the ground — including his first Carabao Cup triumph just over a month ago — but he has been far from his devastating best in front of goal.
What's more, his poor record at Wembley may have begun to weigh on him mentally. Haaland notably declined to take a penalty that would have leveled things for City against Crystal Palace in the 2024–25 FA Cup final, instead passing the responsibility to Omar Marmoush, whose effort was saved by Dean Henderson. Palace went on to beat City 1–0 to claim the trophy.
Haaland would later acknowledge that he should have been the one to step up, but the damage had already been done. The Norwegian drew widespread criticism for his decision, and even manager Pep Guardiola admitted he had expected his Golden Boot-caliber striker "would want to take it."
Nearly a year on, Haaland will once again walk out onto his haunted turf looking to finally lay his demons to rest.
Haaland's Date With Destiny vs. Southampton
Southampton had better hope that Wembley truly does neutralize Haaland's threat, because the Norwegian arrives to Saturday's clash having rediscovered his sharpness in recent weeks.
After netting just five goals in the first three months of 2026, Haaland has doubled that total across five City appearances in April — and they have come at pivotal moments.
A stunning hat-trick against Liverpool secured City's place in Saturday's FA Cup semifinal. He then grabbed the decisive goal in the high-stakes clash with Arsenal last weekend before scoring the only goal of City's midweek victory over Burnley, a result that propelled Guardiola's side to the summit of the Premier League title race.
Back to his best and brimming with confidence, Haaland makes his eighth visit to Wembley aiming to put a definitive end to the negative streaks he carries into a fixture against an opponent he has scored four goals against across five previous encounters.
Southampton head into Saturday's semifinal on an unbeaten run of 20 matches, but any realistic hope of toppling the Premier League leaders may hinge on history once again repeating itself where Haaland is concerned.