Rebuke for the triple winner: Team manager Pep Guardiola from English soccer champions Manchester City criticized the attitude of his players despite their sixth win in a row.
“Our body language was bad in the first half, we complained the whole time,” said the ex-Bayern coach after the Citizens’ 2-0 win against Everton FC on Saturday: “That’s not possible.”
“If you want to give your best, you have to perform like that,” said Guardiola: “We were much more positive in the second half.” Star striker Erling Haaland saved the Premier League runner-up late with a brace. Previously, City had struggled against the low-lying “Toffees” for a long time.
With goals 15 and 16 of the season, ex-Dortmunder Haaland took the lead in the top scorers’ list ahead of Mohamed Salah from league leaders FC Liverpool (14), who won 3-1 against FC Burnley. Haaland has now scored 52 goals in his first 50 league games in which the 23-year-old was a starter.
Guardiola acknowledged this: “Yes, Erling is back,” said the coach with a smile: “His finishes are incredible.”
Haaland recently went 77 days without scoring due to an injury. Guardiola then highlighted the connection with Kevin De Bruyne, who provided the assist for the second goal: “They had a natural connection from day one, that’s really something special.”