Guardiola not Keane on criticism of ‘world’s best’ Haaland
LONDON — Pep Guardiola said Erling Haaland should be respected as the “best striker in the world” after the Manchester City star was subjected to scathing criticism by Roy Keane.
Former Manchester United captain Keane, speaking on Sky Sports, said Haaland’s “general play” was “so poor” and “almost like a League Two player”.
Haaland came under fire from Keane for his lackluster performance in City’s goalless draw against Premier League title rival Arsenal on Sunday.
Haaland is the Premier League’s leading scorer this term with 18 goals after winning last season’s Golden Boot during a remarkable first season with City.
He netted 52 times in all competitions as Guardiola’s men lifted the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Keane conceded the 23-year-old Norwegian is in a class of his own in front of goal.
But City boss Guardiola was unimpressed by Keane’s remarks, insisting any blame for the scoreless display against Arsenal should be shared by the team.
“I don’t agree with him, absolutely not. He’s the best striker in the world and he helped us to win what we won last season. Erling is exceptional,” Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday.
“The reason we don’t create chances is not because of Erling. The standards that Erling has are unbelievable and everyone expects other things.
“There are games where he could be better but I knew during the game against Arsenal that the reason why we were not creating chances was not because of Erling.
“We needed more presence in the box. If we had that Erling would have more space. It happens sometimes. If you want to score goals, bring a lot of players to the opponent keeper, it is as simple as that.”
City’s failure to beat Arsenal damaged its bid to win an unprecedented fourth successive English title.
It was three points behind leader Liverpool ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Guardiola will need Haaland at his predatory best if City is to extend its reign as champion.
And the Spaniard accepts that criticism comes with the territory of being a high-profile player.
“If you don’t want to accept that as a football player, you have to dedicate yourself to another job,” Guardiola said.
“When you are a public figure, you have to accept it. That’s why when you are in contract talks, you have to ask for a lot of money to accept those moments.
“I’m surprised it comes from former players. With journalists I can understand because they have never been on the pitch, but the former players are always a surprise (when they are critical).”
Spurs slip
Tottenham missed the chance to move into the Premier League’s top four after a 1-1 draw at West Ham, while Newcastle was also held 1-1 by Everton on Tuesday.
Spurs have made a habit of recovering from slow starts to win in recent months, but this time they failed to capitalize on scoring after just five minutes.
Brennan Johnson was left with the simple task of tapping into an empty net from Timo Werner’s cross, but the Hammers were quickly level as Jarrod Bowen’s corner flew in off the back of Kurt Zouma.
A draw kept West Ham one point ahead of Newcastle in seventh, but the east London side missed the best chance to take all three points when Michail Antonio fired straight at Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham closed to within two points of Villa in fourth and extended its lead over sixth-placed Manchester United to nine points.
“Disappointed not to get a better outcome, but a tough game,” said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.
“There are a lot of games to go still. I will be very surprised if all games aren’t tight.”
Toffees toiling
Injury-hit Newcastle’s hopes of European soccer next season were dented by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late equalizer for Everton from the penalty spot.
Alexander Isak netted for the fifth consecutive game at St James’ Park to open the scoring.
Everton set a new club-record winless run of 13 Premier League games to leave its 70-year stay in the top flight still at risk.
The Toffees are four points above the drop zone and have the threat of a second points deduction for breaches of financial rules hanging over them.