Erling Haaland goes off script as fuming Man City star points finger | Football | Sport
Erling Haaland let rip after Manchester City surrendered a late lead away to Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola‘s side had led on two occasions, but were pegged back twice, with the final Monaco equaliser coming in controversial circumstances.
Eric Dier was adjudged to have been fouled by the high boot of Nico Gonzalez, with the ex-Spurs man stepping up and converting the penalty in the dying embers of the game. It represents a frustrating result for the Premier League side, who are aiming for a top-eight spot having been knocked out in the play-off round last season.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match Haaland said: “We don’t feel good. We don’t win. We did something unnecessary in the second-half, and we didn’t play good enough, so we don’t deserve to win… We need more energy, we needed to get at them more as we did in the first-half when we dominated much more. In the second-half, they took the lead much more and I don’t think it’s good enough.”
Pretty much everything Haaland touched turned to gold in the first half, with the Norwegian having scored both of City’s goals. However, the striker struggled to get involved in the second half and pointed the finger at himself for not killng the game off himself.
On his second-half showing, he added: “I still think I’m involved in the game by doing movements and creating space for others. So it’s not only if you’re having touches that you’re involved in the game or not. I think you can be involved many other ways, and that’s my job; I did my job in the first-half, second-half I didn’t.”
It was an assesment that Guardiola didn’t agree with, as the Catalan boss heaped plenty of praise on his side’s showing: “A really good game. We made some decisions, we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately at the end we defended an unfair free-kick not perfectly, and we conceded a penalty that [Nico] touched the ball first, no intention. But it is what it is.”
It’s another tricky-looking away trip in Europe for City next, with a match against Villarreal to come after the international break. Having beaten Napoli on opening night, the 2023 winners boast four points after two matches and currently occupy eighth in the table.
Before that though, City go away from home in the Premier League this weekend when they face Brentford. Following the international break, City entertain Everton at the Etihad Stadium.
