Guardiola defends Haaland's poor performance in the defeat against Liverpool
Pep Guardiola was proud of his team's performance and stood up for Erling Haaland, who had an awful game.
First defeat of Guardiola’s team came in the first game of the season. Manchester City were a step below Liverpool, and ended up losing in the Community Shield to Jürgen Klopp's side. The German's disciples have played four friendlies this preseason, twice as many as the ‘Cityzens’. This difference in preparation was key in the development of the match played in Leicester’s King Power Stadium. However, Guardiola was satisfied with his team's work, and he defended Erling Haaland's work.
“We've had a little over two weeks since we started preparations, but the players have generally given their all. I've told them, I'm proud of them because they gave everything. Now it's time to improve. We need to complete this first month of training to get in our rhythm, and we will”. With that in mind, Guardiola was satisfied with his team's work, and was proud to defend their efforts.
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“They were better in the first 15, 20 minutes. They were quick, but then we played our game. We came when we found space and tried to attack. We started very well in the second half, and it was very even after the equalizer. We did very well against this team, even in the first half. We created enough chances”, he continued.
He spoke about Haaland’s performance: “They had chances. Two or three in the first half and one in the second half. He was always there, then he made a lot of good movements. It's good for him to see the reality of playing in a new country, in a new league. He was there. He didn't score today, but he will score another day”.
Guardiola has patience for Haaland
“When he scored in the United States everyone talked about how well he did. He was there and he had chances, nothing has changed. He is strong. Another day he'll send the ball into the net. That's football”.
