Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland had “shut the mouths” of his critics after scoring the only goal of a nervy 1-0 win for Manchester City over Brentford on Tuesday.
City leapfrogged Arsenal into second place, with Haaland making amends for a frustrating night in front of goal as City were held 1-1 at home by Chelsea last weekend.
The Norwegian has only recently returned from a two-month injury layoff and Guardiola says he is also coping with the loss of his grandmother off the field.
But Haaland was more like his old self in front of goal when he raced onto Julian Alvarez’s pass to slot in his 22nd goal of the season 19 minutes from time.
Guardiola says: “Top strikers score a lot of goals. Don’t criticise, he will shut your mouth. Sooner or later he is there.
“He was out for two months, he lost his grandmother, it is not easy for a human being.
“We spoke about the moment [missing chances against Chelsea], and I realised this later, but he didn’t say anything about the passing away of his grandmother.”
Despite missing a large chunk of the start of the year, Haaland is still the league’s top goal-scorer with 17 strikes in just 20 league appearances.
And the 23-year-old Norwegian will be looking to add to his tally when they travel to Bournemouth this Saturday as City look to keep the pressure on log leaders Liverpool.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za
Voice Sports Team