Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has warned critics not to write Erling Haaland off, declaring the Norwegian will always bounce back with a firm reply.
Erling Haaland Rescues Manchester City Against Brentford
Premier League holders Manchester City welcomed Brentford to the Etihad Stadium for their Matchday 25 meeting on Tuesday night (February 20). The Cityzens created a plethora of chances in the first half, but they could not apply the finishing touch. They upped the ante in the second 45, and after more than 20 attempts at the Brentford goal, got their noses in front.
In the 71st minute, City robbed Brentford of possession and kicked off a counter-attack. Julian Alvarez found Haaland with a perfectly threaded through ball, and the 23-year-old made no mistake in slotting the ball beyond Mark Flekken and into the back of the net. It marked the former Borussia Dortmund man’s return to the scoresheet after drawing blanks against FC Copenhagen and Chelsea in consecutive games. The Norway international missed nine chances — a Premier League record — during City’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday (February 18).
Guardiola Feels It Is Unwise To Write Haaland Off
Impressed with Haaland’s performance against Brentford, Guardiola issued a blunt warning to the striker’s critics.
The Spaniard said (via talkSPORT):
“With top scorers or strikers who score a lot of goals, don’t criticize because he will shut your mouth, that’s for sure.
“Definitely, if I have to choose one [player to be running through on goal], I choose this one.”
Guardiola then revealed that Haaland had lost his grandmother leading up to the game against Brentford.
He added:
“He was out with injury for two months and is not in his best shape and just had an incredibly tough week because he lost his grandmother.
“That is not easy for a human being. Of course, he is not in his best shape, but it’s normal after two months.”
Despite missing five Premier League games due to a stress-related injury in late December / early January, Haaland sits proudly at the top of the goalscorers’ rankings. In 20 outings, he has scored 17 times — two goals more than second-placed Mohamed Salah.
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