Pep Guardiola defended Erling Haaland from the fierce criticism of an English football legend – – 2024-04-06 06:46:47

Erling Haaland, Manchester City’s Norwegian striker, finds himself in the middle of a whirlwind of criticism after a series of games without scoring and a recent goalless draw against Arsenal. Among the most critical voices is that of Roy Keane, former Manchester United player, who did not hesitate to express his dissatisfaction with Haaland’s performance.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Keane stated that Haaland’s level of play is “very poor”, even comparing him to a player in the English fourth tier, League Two. According to Keane, even though Haaland may be considered the best in the world in terms of scoring, his overall game leaves a lot to be desired.

While the Norwegian-born striker remains at the top of the Premier League scoring list, he has only scored once in his last four games. What’s more, against the Gunners he seemed restless during the game. The team led by Mikel Arteta took it well in defense and did not weigh in at any point during the development of the match.

Faced with these criticisms, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach, came out in defense of his star striker, contradicting Keane: “I don’t agree with him at all. He is as if saying that he is a second or third division coach.” At the same time, the Catalan coach expressed his surprise at the criticism, especially coming from a former player, highlighting the importance of Erling Haaland in the successes obtained by the team last season.

“Erling is the best striker in the world and he helped us win what we won last season. “It surprises me when criticism comes from former players… I’m not a guy who is going to criticize my teammates when I retire,” Guardiola said.

The City coach also emphasized the need for the team to improve in creating scoring opportunities, pointing out that the lack of scoring is not the sole responsibility of Haaland. Guardiola highlighted that more presence and participation of players in the offensive zone is required to improve the team’s performance.

Likewise, he highlighted Haaland’s dedication to football and the particularities of his physical recovery: “His recovery is not so easy compared to others, due to the size of his body. He needs special treatment, but he is aware. His surroundings, City, the doctors, everyone is aware,” analyzed the ‘Citizen’ coach.

It is relevant to mention that this is not the first time that Keane has directed criticism towards Haaland. Previously, in 2023, after a 3-0 victory for Manchester City against United, with two goals from Erling, Keane had already expressed his dissatisfaction with the Norwegian. “You can talk about it in the locker room. What really is the problem? It was a nice header from Haaland, yes, but there’s no need to talk about it on the pitch for five minutes. “Go down the locker room tunnel and celebrate your victory with your player there,” commented the former Red Devils player, who wore the United shirt for 12 seasons (1995 to 2003).