(Manchester City – Everton 2–0) Erling Braut Haaland scored two goals, but still has to endure criticism from the boss.
Saturday 10 February at 17:11
The 23-year-old scored two goals and won the match against Everton. His first goals in 2024.
But it took a long time before he and City got a hole in the boil. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was not happy with everything he saw.
– His body language in the first instance was not good. Much better in the second half, says Guardiola to Viaplay.
The Spaniard continues:
– When he scored his first, his body language changed completely. Everything he did after that was better. He has to learn that even if he doesn’t score, he has to show courage and say “I’m here, I’m screwed”.
He still thinks people will get to see a fit Haaland going forward:
– Now he is up and running, he is healthy and the two goals today will help him mentally.
The Spanish manager was not only dissatisfied with Haaland’s appearance.
Guardiola also does not think the Norwegian’s teammates showed the spark he wants from his players:
– The team’s body language was not as it should be. We also did several things that weren’t perfect, but after the break we were better and more intense.
He highlights the arrivals of Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish as very, very important.
– It is a fantastic feeling. It was nice stuff, says the superstar himself to Viaplay.
It was Haaland’s first goal after the injury – and his first in all competitions since the net familiarity against Liverpool. It was November 25th.
He has been struggling with a stress reaction in his foot and was out of action from 6 December to 31 January. Today he played just over 100 minutes of football and looked little bothered.
But he admits to Viaplay that it has been a boring few weeks.
– It’s been crazy. I’ve been trying to keep my spirits up and stuff like that. I’m not going to complain, but it’s been awful. I’ve been bored. That’s part of it, but it’s terrible. Now I’m finally back, so it’s just a matter of looking ahead.
Otherwise, he added that he did not feel there was a need to talk further about the injury.
Mon. City did not have a single shot on target after 70 minutes. They barged against a defensive wall.
After a bump and a blunder at a corner, Haaland knocked the ball with all the power he had in his right arm.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was on it with a glove, but it can hardly be shot harder than the spring bow did.
The score forced Everton to send people into attack.
It paid off. Kevin De Bruyne played through Haaland on a counterattack. Jarrad Branthwaite tried to keep up, but he went to ground against the physically superior Norwegian.
Then Haaland had all the time in the world to aim with his preferred foot – the left – and send the ball past Pickford.
– A frustrating match until he thundered in a goal before he coldly scored another, writes the local newspaper Manchester Evening News about Haaland. He is their best on the pitch with a market grade of 8.
Graphics: www.sofascore.com
Manchester City are now one point behind league runners-up Liverpool. The latter play at home against Burnley at 4 p.m.
In the previous match, Haaland had an assist when Foden scored a hat trick: