Man City 1-0 Brentford: Pep Guardiola tells critics Erling Haaland will ‘shut your mouth’
Pep Guardiola warned Erling Haaland’s critics “he will shut your mouth” after the prolific Norwegian boosted Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes.
That Chelsea setback got here simply days after Haaland’s grandmother died, and City supervisor Guardiola took the chance post-match to present his ideas on current critics – and journalists.
“With top scorers or strikers who score a lot of goals, don’t criticise because he will shut your mouth, that’s for sure,” stated Guardiola. “Sooner or later, he’s there.
“Definitely, if I’ve to decide on one [player to be running through on goal], I select this one.
“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.”
Guardiola, who stated he by no means wished to be a journalist, was requested what was fallacious with being one and his response was rapid and slicing.
“I am a manager,” he stated. “My life is better than yours.”
Guardiola additionally stated Belgium playmaker Kevin de Bruyne has a hamstring problem, after already lacking 5 months of the season.
“Today we could not use Kevin because he had niggles in his hamstring and I didn’t want to take risk,” he stated.
“He’s OK. It’s just a precaution but he didn’t feel comfortable, and so after five months off we didn’t take any risk.”
More historical past for Haaland
Another day, one other piece of historical past for Haaland.
His essential winner towards Brentford on Tuesday not solely boosted Manchester City’s title hopes, however meant he has scored towards all 21 opponents he has performed towards within the Premier League.
Harry Kane was the one participant in Premier League historical past to face multiple aspect and rating towards all of them, with 32 out of 32. Haaland now joins him.
Only two different gamers have performed towards 20 or extra groups and solely failed to attain towards one among them – Thierry Henry (34 out of 35) and Sergio Aguero (32 out of 33) – displaying how spectacular his and Kane’s achievements are.
Not that the Norwegian will be pondering an excessive amount of about information after his priceless 71st-minute winner lifted a rising sense of frustration round Etihad Stadium, simply when many dwelling followers began fearing one other ‘a kind of days’.
It had been a tough few days for Haaland after a efficiency to neglect towards Chelsea on the weekend, following the dying of his grandmother, spiced up an already very tasty-looking title race.
The 23-year-old spurned 9 makes an attempt at objective towards the Blues – essentially the most he has had in a single Premier League look with out scoring.
It was additionally the sixth time in seven matches he had failed to search out the goal as some began to recommend – considerably prematurely – he was struggling for kind.
There was no signal of any struggles although, as he took benefit of a slip from Kristoffer Ajer to stride on to a by way of ball and sweep dwelling the winner.
The objective moved him two forward within the race for the Golden Boot on 17 for the season, and made it 53 in 55 Premier League appearances.
Not unhealthy for a person out of shape.