Ex-West Ham striker's scoreless sequence stretches to a staggering 15 games at new old club

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht

There's a famous saying that goes: 'Never go back to a place where you have been happy'.

And maybe, just maybe there's a truth to that for Sebastien Haller who has gone from Utrecht juggernaut [51 goals in two-and-a-half seasons between January 2015 and summer 2017 for the club] to ghost.

Less than three months after sealing a return home on a permanent basis, it's highly likely that Sebastien Haller already regrets that move after an odyssey of FIFTEEN games without a single game following yesterday's 1-1 draw with Porto in the Europa League.

In his first stint a decade ago he had located the onion bag 51 times before adding another six in the first five months of this calendar year on loan from Borussia Dortmund.

Yet we have to go back all the way to the 25th of April to find Haller's last goal. And having gone goalless in the final two fixtures of the season means he hasn't netted in 17 outings. The ridiculous goal-per-game ratio he set before sealing a move to Eintracht Frankfurt eight summers ago is now in serious jeopardy of fading into irrelevance after yet another failure to finally get goal number 58 for the Domstedelingen.

Six minutes after replacing de With with Utrecht 1-0 up thanks to Miguel Rodriguez's 48th minute missile, Porto levelled the game through a Borja Sainz follow-up.

Yet goalkeeper Barkas' sending-off after headbutting Gabri Veiga after the latter raced to collect the ball out of the net, had something to do with Haller's passive display.

Forced to defend down to 10 men for over 30 minutes including added-time, Haller didn't get fed and spent most of the game as an added midfielder with his back to goal in his own-half trying to help weather Porto's storm.

Deputy goalie Michael Brouwer pulled off an array of top-drawer saves from Prpic, Sainz and Veiga to earn Utrecht their first point in their fourth Europa League meeting.

Deep into injury-time, Haller drew a foul from Alberto Costa on the break to help take the sting out of Porto.

Yet he knows better than anyone else that he will have to do a lot more in the upcoming games against Real Betis, Nottingham Forest, Genk and Celtic if fifth-from-bottom Utrecht are to stand any chances of at least achieving the playoffs. If he does that, he's erase the critics and restore his vintage reputation at Galgenwaard.

And having gone through what he has gone through in life that won't faze him.