Pep Guardiola comments on Erling Haaland’s celebration at Crystal Palace
Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, thinks that Erling Haaland’s ecstatic celebration after scoring the winning goal against Crystal Palace represents the striker’s contentment with the team.
Despite Palace’s strong defense in the first half, Haaland’s penalty in the second half secured the win for City and brought his Premier League goal count to 28, putting him in the lead.
The celebration that followed the game was full of happiness.
Guardiola said: “The way he celebrates his goals and his mates’ goals shows how happy he is here and how we are with him and his personality. He is a young lad, and to take the ball there under this pressure and put the ball away with determination and score was great.
“What I would like when I finish our period together is the fact that he could improve the game with the association with the team, with the right tempo, realising how he can be involved in our game, not just putting the ball in the net. Because the net will happen all the time in his life.
“This guy doesn’t score one or two goals and the people go, oh he’s not the same! He is always there so the numbers speak for itself. One of the biggest attributes I’ve discovered knowing him and working together is the fact that he can miss one chance, second, he’s not getting depressed, he’s not sad.
“He’s thinking positive, he knows (he) will have the chance, he knows he will be there. And this is an incredible attribute as a football player.’
Despite controlling the game, Manchester City faced strong resistance from Crystal Palace, who had not won a game since New Year’s Eve, and limited City to just eight chances in the first half.
One of the biggest missed opportunities was by Haaland, who was visibly disappointed after missing a six-yard effort.
However, he redeemed himself later by converting a late penalty after Michael Olise fouled Ilkay Gundogan. This proved to be the decisive goal, as the hosts put up a good fight.
Guardiola noted that the pressure on Haaland, who has been scoring prolifically, should not be seen as a negative thing.
City’s next game is against RB Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 matchup on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola comments on Erling Haaland’s celebration at Crystal Palace
