Haaland ‘shuts mouths’ as Man City closes on Liverpool
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Pep Guardiola said Erling Haaland had “shut the mouths” of his critics after scoring the only goal of a nervy 1-0 win for Manchester City over Brentford on Tuesday.
Just two points separate the top three in a fascinating Premier League title race as City moved to within a point of leaders Liverpool, with third-placed Arsenal one point further back with 13 games to go.
Haaland was keen to make amends for a frustrating night in front of goal as City were held 1-1 at home by Chelsea on Saturday.
The Norwegian has only recently returned from a two-month injury layoff and Guardiola said he was also coping with the loss of his grandmother off the field.
But Haaland was more like his old self in front of goal when he raced onto Julian Alvarez’s pass to slot in his 22nd goal of the season 19 minutes from time.
“Top strikers score a lot of goals. Don’t criticize, he will shut your mouth. Sooner or later he is there,” said Guardiola.
“He was out for two months, he lost his grandmother, it is not easy for a human being. We spoke about the moment (missing chances against Chelsea), and I realized this later, but
he didn’t say anything about the passing away of his grandmother.”
Kevin De Bruyne was left on the bench for the entire match as Guardiola revealed he has “niggles” in his hamstring.
The Belgian missed the first five months of the season due to a hamstring tear. De Bruyne’s ingenuity was missed as City struggled to make their domination count despite enjoying nearly 70 percent possession and having 25 shots on goal.
Liverpool, Arsenal
hopes dashed
Liverpool and Arsenal’s hopes of a second unlikely gift from City in the title race in four days would have been raised by a quiet start to the second period.
However, City remain well in the hunt to become the first side ever to win four consecutive English topflight titles for a reason.
One slip by Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer provided the moment Haaland had been waiting for as he galloped clear on goal and kept his composure to score for just the third time in his last eight games.
“I’m incredibly proud. We didn’t give much away until the goal which is a slip,” said Brentford boss Frank. “I think they’re good enough. They don’t need that luck to get over the line!”