Pep Guardiola hits back at Roy Keane over his Erling Haaland comment

Pep Guardiola responded to Roy Keane’s remarks about Erling Haaland, in which the pundit labeled the player as “League Two” caliber.

In Sunday’s match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City and Arsenal played to a lackluster goalless draw, shifting the Premier League title race advantage to Liverpool. Despite commendation for Arsenal’s defensive performance, criticism was directed at Manchester City’s striker Erling Haaland for his limited contribution in the attacking phase.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has responded to Roy Keane’s criticism of Erling Haaland, rebuffing the pundit’s description of the player as “League Two” caliber.

Following the goalless draw between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, in which Haaland’s performance was scrutinized by Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane, Guardiola defended his star striker.

Keane remarked, “In terms of in front of goal, he’s the best in the world. But his general play for such a player is so poor. Not just today, he has to improve. He’s almost like a League Two player, that’s how I look at him. His general play, it has to improve and it will do over the next few years.”

In response, Guardiola stated, “I’m not agreeing with him [Keane], absolutely not. It’s like he said: ‘he’s a manager for the second or third league’. I don’t think so. He [Haaland] is the best striker in the world and he helped us to win what we won last season.”

Guardiola emphasized that the lack of chances created in the match was not solely due to Haaland’s performance, but rather a need for more presence in the final third from multiple players.

“We played an exceptional game. I reviewed the game against Arsenal, but we missed more people in the final third.

“Maybe for the quality and different skillset we have, but Erling is exceptional.

“Some actions he missed, sometimes it’s the managers, sometimes the opponent is really good, there are many many reasons.

“In football there is not just one reason, sometimes where you have success or you don’t have success, there are many reasons, it’s football, it’s a team sport.”

A failure to secure victory against Aston Villa, who are vying for a top-four position, on Wednesday could potentially mark the conclusion of Manchester City’s pursuit of clinching a fourth consecutive Premier League title.