Pep Guardiola responded to criticism from Erling Haaland after the Manchester City striker took his team to within a point of the top of the Premier League on Tuesday night with a victory over Brentford.
‘The best strikers score a lot of goals. Don’t criticize, because it will shut your mouth,” Guardiola said.
“Sooner or later, he will be there. She was out for two months. He has had an incredibly hard week losing his grandmother.
‘It’s not easy for a human being and he’s not in his best shape. In this type of game like the one against Brentford, you need Erling,” added the City manager.
It was Haaland’s 22nd goal of the season and his 71st-minute strike beat Mark Flekken after taking advantage of a Kristoffer Ajer slip, meaning he has now scored against each of the 21 Premier League opponents he has faced. that has been faced.
Erling Haaland’s second-half goal gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory over Brentford.
Pep Guardiola responded to Haaland’s criticism after losing several opportunities against Chelsea
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And Guardiola admitted how relieved he was to win against a determined Brentford team.
“Matches like Brentford are really difficult for us, because you can break in transitions like Liverpool did, but there are not many spaces. Last season we lost six points against them,” said Guardiola, who also revealed that he did not risk to Kevin De Bruyne because he had “hamstring discomfort.”
Despite the defeat, Thomas Frank’s side remain the last team to win at the Etihad, back in November 2022, when City extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 35 games. And Frank remained optimistic, although a fourth defeat in five games leaves Brentford just five points from the drop.
“Throughout the whole game we were brilliant. I am very proud and satisfied with the performance. They believed and that gives me a lot of faith in the future. “The way we defended the whole game was magnificent in terms of structure, defensive principles and urgency,” Frank said.
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Manchester City moved one point behind league leaders Liverpool with the 1-0 win at the Etihad.
‘Before the goal, we limited City to two big chances. If you can limit City to two big chances, you’ve done a very good job. And we were unlucky.
“If Kristoffer (Ajer) doesn’t miss, I’m convinced he wouldn’t be a target. Haaland is fast, but Kristoffer is just as fast,” Frank added.