Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, has issued a stern warning to critics of Erling Haaland after the Norwegian striker scored the match-winner against Brentford on Tuesday night, to boost City’s Premier League title hopes.
Haaland’s 71st-minute winner in the match against Brentford propelled Manchester City to second place in the league table, just one point behind leaders Liverpool.
Guardiola’s comments came in response to recent criticism directed at Haaland, particularly following his performance in the draw against Chelsea and amid personal challenges, including the recent loss of his grandmother.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola emphasized Haaland’s ability to rise to the occasion and silence his detractors. “Don’t criticize top scorers or strikers who score a lot of goals, because he will shut your mouth, that’s for sure,” Guardiola said .
“Definitely, if I have to choose one [player to be running through on goal], I choose 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.” the Spanish manager remarked.
In addition to Haaland’s goal-scoring prowess, Guardiola provided updates on midfielder Kevin de Bruyne’s fitness, revealing a precautionary decision to omit him from the match due to a hamstring issue.
“Today we could not use Kevin because he had niggles in his hamstring and I didn’t want to take risk,” he said.
“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.”
Haaland’s decisive goal against Brentford not only bolstered Manchester City’s title aspirations but also marked another milestone in his remarkable career.
With this goal, Haaland became the first player to score against all 21 opponents he has faced in the Premier League, joining an elite group of prolific scorers in the league’s history.
