Erling Haaland has been in the eye of the storm of public opinion and has been the victim of much criticismaccusations and judgments against him for apparently showing poor performance in his game and that is why his coach at Manchester City, the Spanish Pep Guardiola, came forward to defend his forward, after the 3-goal draw against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in a duel corresponding to the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Guardiola made it clear how complicated the Norwegian attacker’s position is. on the field of play, despite the constant pressure he had to deal with from the Real Madrid centre-backs.
Guardiola spoke about Haaland’s potential and significant contribution to Manchester City even though recently and constantly he has been singled out for his poor performance, especially in the duel against Real Madrid. Pep wanted to be much clearer that in addition to the goals that Haaland can score, the young Norwegian plays a fairly important role in the club’s strategy and that his contribution goes beyond the individual numbers that he may have.
Guardiola’s statements to the press
“Haaland is a young player, he has room to improve, but improving is more a matter of the team than of him.”. Wasn’t he involved? We scored three goals, but he had two centre-backs nearby… and it’s not easy. It is the most difficult position on the field. Two against one. They were very united and are really good defenders,” said the Spanish coach. So far this season, despite not having been in the game due to some physical problems, the former Borussia Dortmund striker of the Bundesliga managed to score a total of 30 goals and distributed a total of six assists in 37 games played.
Guardiola puts the team above individual awards
For the Spanish coach, the importance of adding experience and playing minutes on the field For the striker it is much more important than the individual awards he could win, such as the Ballon d’Or; What is sought is to achieve the main objectives as a club in European competitions. “He needs to play more minutes, learn what you have to do. But the goal is not the Ballon d’Or, the goal is to win trophies and he achieved it. Would we have won five trophies last year without him? There are no options. It’s not about Erling or any other player. Until you retire, you can always be better.”
A simply successful year for ‘El Vikingo’
23-year-old Haaland had an impressive last season, incredible by any standards, being the spearhead for Manchester City to achieve the historic treble by winning the Champions League, FA Cup and the Premier League. The Norwegian managed to score 52 goals, provided 9 assists and played a total of 53 games, numbers that made him one of the main rivals of the Argentine Lionel Messi and the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé to win the Ballon d’Or and The Best award. .
How are City doing in the Premier League this season?
Manchester City is currently experiencing a great present as they do not lose a game since last December 6 against Aston Villa and since then they have won 21 games and managed to draw on 5 occasions. In addition to this, those led by Pep Guardiola are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, also following Arsenal and Liverpool in the local championship, while in the FA Cup they are in the semifinals where they will face Chelsea.
Keep reading:
Manchester City travels with two significant casualties for the duel against Real Madrid in the Champions League
Pep Guardiola comes out in defense of Erling Haaland and targets Roy Keane for his strong criticism
Manchester United legend harshly criticizes Erling Haaland for his “poor game”