Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland’s composure after he scored the only goal for Manchester City in their win against Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n
Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland’s ability to shrug off missed chances is one of his best attributes after he was Manchester City\u2019s\u00a0match-winner against Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n
The Norwegian lad missed a golden chance in the first half and had struggled against the Eagles, but he kept his cool to bury a late penalty and help City close the gap to Arsenal to two points.<\/p>\n
It was only the Norwegian’s third goal in his last nine appearances and he celebrated wildly at full-time, but Guardiola was delighted with the way the Premier League’s top goalscorer keeps going, scoring his 28th goal in 27 appearances in the league this season.<\/p>\n
“One of his biggest attributes I discovered and knowing him working together is the fact that he never lose his\u2026 he can miss one chance and he never gets depressed, he isn\u2019t sad,” said Guardiola.<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s always thinking positive, the next one, he knows he\u2019ll have the chance and he\u2019ll be there. This is an incredible attribute for a football player.<\/p>\n
“An athlete normally in football and basketball and tennis when you’re thinking in the action, in the past, that\u2019s finished, you cannot be a good athlete. This guy miss it and he thinks \u2018OK, I\u2019ll have another one and another one\u2019.”<\/p>\n
Guardiola has regularly called for Haaland to become more involved in City’s build-up play this season and the City boss is hopeful that is one area of the game he will develop during their time working together.<\/p>\n
“What I would like when I finish our period together is that he could improve his game with the association with the team, with the right tempo, to realise how he can be involved in our game and not just put the ball in the net,” said Guardiola.<\/p>\n
“Putting the ball in the net will happen all the time in his life. He doesn\u2019t score one or two goals and people say he\u2019s not the same. He\u2019s always there, the numbers speak for themselves. What he\u2019s scored in this league especially, we\u2019re still in March.”<\/p>\n
Haaland’s release at full-time looked cathartic and his contribution to City has been questioned recently, with the goals drying up compared to the rate at which he was scoring before the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Guardiola felt he missed an even better chance the penalty in the first half, scooping over Nathan Ake’s low cross, but praised his personality to take the penalty in a pressure moment.<\/p>\n
“He has to score five goals every game, if he doesn\u2019t score it\u2019s a lot of pressure,” joked Guardiola. “He doesn\u2019t have the pressure, he\u2019s had an incredible season so far.<\/p>\n
“He miss a penalty in the first half because the chance he missed, the penalty is more difficult, but he\u2019s always there. The way he celebrates his goals and his mates’ goals shows happy he is here and how we are with him.<\/p>\n
“The personality, he\u2019s a young lad, to take the ball there in this pressure, it\u2019s not soft, the determination to put it there and score was great.<\/p>\n
“Of course he feels the pressure, but it\u2019s nice, if you don\u2019t feel the pressure you\u2019ll be in the bar drinking something. You have to cope, you have to handle it. If we lose we lose the Premier League, if we lose on Tuesday we lose the Champions League, if we lose to Vinny we lose the FA Cup. That is good, that can drive you to give your best.”<\/p>\n
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