By Peter Ochieng
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has defended his striker Erling Haaland, over after being ‘harshly’ criticised by former Manchester United Captain, Roy Keane.
Keane compared Haaland to a ‘League Two’ player, after he failed to register any shot on target in Manchester City’s goalless draw against Arsenal over the weekend.
As a pundit on Sky Sports, Keane said he was in love with Haaland’s finishing prowess, but added that his overall play resembled that of a ‘League Two’ player, after firing blanks against the Gunners.
“The levels of his general play is so poor, and not just today. His general play for such a player is so poor, I think he has to improve that, he’s almost like a League Two player,” said Keane.
In response, Guardiola said he doesn’t agree an inch with Keane’s assessment, branding Haaland the best striker in the world.
“He’s the best striker in the world and he helped us to win what we won last season and the reason why we don’t create many chances against Arsenal is not from Erling. He is exceptional. We need more presence in the final third with more people and we played an exceptional game against Arsenal. I reviewed it,” said the Spaniard.
Last season, City won the league title, champions league, FA and Carabao Cup, with Haaland scoring 52 goals in 53 games.
He has scored 29 in 35 matches this season,
giving his manager the reason to back him even more.
The manager wondered why former players keep on harshly criticising those still active
“That always surprises me. The memory disappears quickly. The problems players have now, they had too. They missed it a thousand, million times and were hurt when they were criticised by former players. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but I am not a guy who is going to criticise my colleagues when I retire.”
Guardiola’s side play Aston villa tonight, as the race for the 2023/2024 Premier League title reaches fever pitch.
