Erling Haaland, Roy Keane
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has defended striker Erling Haaland following Roy Keane’s criticism after Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
The ex-Manchester United captain said Haaland’s “general play” is “so poor” and “almost like a League Two player”.
“I don’t agree with him, absolutely not,” said Guardiola when asked about Keane’s comments.
Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions last season and has 29 this term – 18 in the Premier League.
“He’s the best striker in the world,” added Guardiola of the 23-year-old Norwegian.
“He helped us win last season and the reason why we didn’t create many answers from Erling is we need more presence in the final third with more people.
“We played an exceptional game, I reviewed the game against Arsenal but we just missed more people in the final third. The quality and different skillset we have, Haaland is exceptional.”
City are three points behind leaders Liverpool after Sunday’s match, which saw the home side fail to score in a Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium for the first time since October 2021.
Speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports after the game, Keane said of Haaland: “The levels of his general play is so poor, and not just today. His general play for such a player, it is so poor, I think he has to improve that, he’s almost like a League Two player.”
But Guardiola responded: “Some actions he missed, sometimes it’s the managers, sometimes the opponent is really good, there are many many reasons.”
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