Pep Guardiola: Manchester City are at the top of the league table. However, they have no room for error as even one defeat or draw could see them lose their grip on the Premier League title. Man City were 2-0 up against Leeds United today when they got a penalty. Their usual penalty taker Erling Haaland gave the ball to Ilkay Gundogan to complete his hattrick. However, it seems that did not sit well with coach Pep Guardiola as videos emerge of him shouting at Haaland. Follow Premier League LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Manchester City took on Leeds United today with the intention of winning and going 4 points clear of Arsenal. They looked to be successful in their endeavour as they went 2-0 up into the first 30 minutes of the game. Both goals were scored by their star midfielder and captain Ilkay Gundogan. The match remained goalless from the 27th minute till the last 10 minutes of the game. Leeds defender Struijk raced into the box and nudged over Foden. As a result, Manchester City got a penalty in the 83rd minute of the game.
Their usual penalty taker Erling Haaland was supposed to step up. However, he took the opportunity and gave it to Gundogan so that the captain could complete his hattrick. Gundogan stepped up and took a low-effort shot which hit the base of the bar and it came back. It did not look like that this stunt went well with coach Pep Guardiola, who wanted his team to go 3-0 up. It only took a minute to prove that Guardiola’s fears were not invalid. Leeds United took an opportunity of Akanji’s mistake and scored a goal of their own.
Leeds United reduced Man City’s lead to 1 goal in the 85th minute. If they found another moment of genius, it could’ve turned horrific for the Cityzens. Fortunately, the game stayed 2-1 in the favour of Manchester City. However, it still became a controversial moment for Pep Guardiola as videos emerged of him shouting at their star striker. It looked like he was fuming at Erling Haaland saying and repeating, “You have to take it.” Indicating that it should’ve been Haaland taking the penalty instead of Gundogan at such a crucial point in the game.
After the end of the game, when he was asked about the matter, he told BBC, “The game is not over. It shows how nice and generous Erling is. If it is 4-0 with 10 minutes left, OK. But at 2-0? Erling is the best penalty taker right now so he has to take it. Today Erling could have scored two or three goals. He played incredibly well, in his movement and everything… how he fought for us.”
He added, “I like to praise Erling when he does not score. If Gundo scores everyone is ‘OK, hat-trick, well done’. But a taker is a taker. At 2-0, this is a business, not a situation where we cannot forget it.” Man City meet Real Madrid on Tuesday for Champions League semi-final. It would be safe to say that coach Pep Guardiola wants nothing but perfection from his team at this point. If Manchester City manage to keep up their unbeaten streak, they might just win the treble this year with hopes still alive in Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
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