Although Erling Haaland recently shined with a double goal to help Man City defeat Everton 2-0 (10.2), coach Guardiola surprised him by criticizing his student’s performance.
Erling Haaland was disappointed and continuously reacted after missing many opportunities in the first half of the match between The Citizens and Everton. The striker born in 2000 was given many opportunities but did not have a single shot on target. However, the Norwegian player quickly regained his form in the second half and scored consecutive goals in the 71st and 85th minutes. The win at Etihad Stadium also helped Man City have 52 points, 2 points less than The top team is Liverpool.
Despite Erling Haaland’s goals, coach Guardiola also expressed disappointment. He suddenly criticized Erling Haaland at a press conference on February 12: “These two goals will help him a lot, help him stay more alert and comfortable. Obviously his physical condition and body in the first half were not good. That’s not okay and we’re not happy. In the second half, things were much improved.
“It seems like I’m complaining about Erling Haaland but in general that’s what I mean. How many matches has Erling Haaland played and how many goals has he scored? Obviously his physical condition has never been an issue before. Erling Haaland is young, plays in the most difficult position in attack and is constantly being marked by 3 or 4 opposing players. When he scored, Erling Haaland celebrated emotionally but that was not too necessary.
Erling Haaland needs to relax and calm down more when the team faces difficulties. If we don’t score today or if he doesn’t score in 10 minutes, that’s okay. I want the team to always win and overcome bad moments,” coach Pep Guardiola continued.
Despite having to take a long break due to injury, with a double goal against Everton, Erling Haaland continues to lead the Premier League top scorer list with 16 goals. In the Champions League, the Norwegian player also had 5 goals and was 2 goals behind the leader, Luuk de Jong (Ajax). Tomorrow morning (February 14), the 23-year-old player will join Man City as a guest at rival Copenhagen in the round of 16.