Alan Shearer has delivered his verdict on what Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola did during his side’s win over Wolves.
The defending Premier League champions have come a step closer to retaining their throne. They battered Wolves at the Etihad on Saturday, scoring five past them.
Erling Haaland was on fire in that game. He scored four times, including a first-half hat-trick, and silenced many of his critics with his performance.
Alan Shearer delivers verdict on Pep Guardiola’s Erling Haaland decision
Erling Haaland has been through a lot in recent weeks.
The Norwegian went through a spell of scoring just four goals in 10 Premier League games following his return from injury, and that led to a fair bit of criticism.
However, Haaland is back to his best now and has scored eight goals in his last four league appearances for Manchester City.
Four of those came in the game against Wolves on Saturday, and if he had played the full 90 minutes, he probably would’ve scored one or two more.
However, Pep Guardiola decided to take him off in the 82nd minute of the game, and Haaland was absolutely furious.
The former Borussia Dortmund man was really unhappy and could be seen voicing his frustrations even after he got to the bench.
That reaction has led to some serious criticism, with Roy Keane branding Haaland as a ‘spoilt brat’.
Shearer has now jumped to the Manchester City forward’s defence and claimed that he would be ‘raging’ too if he was in Haaland’s shoes.
Speaking about his reaction, Shearer said on the Rest is Football podcast: “I loved it. Why shouldn’t he be fuming? So he should be fuming. I’d be fuming. I’d be absolutely raging.
“You’re on four goals and you’ve got 10 or 15 minutes left and he takes you (off). No, I would be exactly the same as him.
“He’s on a high, he’s flying, he hasn’t scored goals for a while, he has got criticism, he’s got four, he’s back in the groove…”
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People forget one thing about Erling Haaland
Some of the criticism that has come Erling Haaland’s way is just ridiculous.
Manchester City spent the big bucks on the Norway international for one reason – to score goals. He has been doing that in style.
In 41 appearances in all competitions this season, Haaland has scored 36 goals and provided six assists. What more can he do?
Yes, the striker’s link-up play could improve, but people forget that Haaland is still only 23 years old. What he’s doing at his age is just extraordinary.
Haaland should ignore all his critics and continue to do what he’s doing.