Football News- Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s coach, declared Erling Haaland as the “top scorer worldwide” in spite of harsh words from former Manchester United captain Roy Keane. Keane, on Sky Sports, criticized Haaland’s “general play,” comparing it to a low-ranking player.
He blamed Haaland for the scoreless game between City and Premier League rivals Arsenal. Despite the criticism, Haaland is the top scorer in the Premier League with 18 goals this season, following a stunning opening season with City where he acquired the Golden Boot and achieved 52 goals overall. These wins contributed to City’s triumph in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Keane admitted that Haaland’s scoring ability is exceptional. However, City’s coach, Guardiola, disagreed with Keane’s complaints, insisting that the team as a whole was responsible for the scoreless Arsenal game.
“I completely disagree. He is the world’s top striker and was instrumental in our victories last season. Erling is extraordinary,”
Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday. Guardiola acknowledged that the team’s failure to score against Arsenal wasn’t due to Haaland alone and stressed the need for more team presence in the scoring area. Not doing so is impeding their quest for a fourth consecutive English title.
They currently trail Liverpool by three points, and hope to bridge this gap when Aston Villa visits the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola also aims to leverage Haaland’s scoring aptitude in extending City’s championship reign. He admitted that criticism is part and parcel of being a well-known player. “If you can’t take that as a football player, you need a different job,” he remarked. Guardiola also expressed surprise at the critique from previous players, given journalists usually comment on the matters and they have never had match experience.
Football News- Rodrygo powers Madrid past Athletic to maintain Liga lead
In Madrid, Rodrygo, the Brazilian ace, scored two major goals, powering Real Madrid to a 2-0 triumph over Athletic Club in the 2023-24 La Liga match at Santiago Bernabéu last Sunday. Real Madrid now has an eight-point lead over the reigning La Liga champs, Barcelona, who are second. Yet, Girona is hot on their heels with just two points less.
Real Madrid made an early stride, Rodrygo weaved through the center, gliding past the goalie, Julen Agirrezabala, for the first goal. The visitors had a rough going in the first half, but at the end, they saw a brief chance.
Gorka Guruzeta located Oihan Sancet in the box and went for a tie, but the goalie saved. Athletic Club came out stronger after half-time with a fiery aim to tie, yet the opposition was formidable. However, Rodrygo wasn’t done. He notched another goal in the 73rd minute after a quick offensive rush.
This was the cherry on top for Real Madrid, it denied any possible retaliation from the visitors, keeping them supreme on the La Liga leaderboard. In different La Liga showdown, Girona beat Real Betis 3-2 at Municipal de Montilivi, narrowing the gap with Barcelona.
PSG edge past Marseille to take step closer to Ligue 1 title
In a challenging Ligue 1 match on Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat Marseille 2-0 on their turf, despite a questionable first-half red card. The goals came from Portuguese players Vitinha and Goncalo Ramos. An anticipated home victory for Marseille first seemed likely when Lucas Beraldo of PSG was red-carded shortly before half-time.
However, PSG, under Qatar’s management, stood their ground. Vitinha netted the first goal of the game by shooting a brilliant opener in the 53rd minute in a rainy clash at the Velodrome. Amidst their home unbeaten streak, Marseille pushed for an equalizer, but a goal by Jordan Veretout was ruled out for teammate Luis Henrique being offside.
Later, PSG’s chief Luis Enrique strategically benched captain Kylian Mbappe and introduced Ramos. Ramos sealed the victory with a goal just five minutes to the game’s conclusion. The critical breakaway goal was orchestrated by Marco Asensio after a corner kick was cleared by Achraf Hakimi.
This successful finish marked Ramos’ 10th goal for the season. Mbappe has the season’s highest goals with 38. This victory extends PSG’s lead in the league to 12 points over Brest. With seven games left, PSG needs only 10 more points to bag their 10th title in 12 seasons.
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The match wasn’t without controversy, with the red card shown to Beraldo, the newly signed Brazilian, following a clash with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Referee Benoit Bastien showed Beraldo a straight red after a VAR review. Enrique stated he wouldn’t critique the referee’s decision or utilize VAR to justify it.
Marseille couldn’t capitalize on their man advantage and a second consecutive league loss keeps them at seventh place. Upcoming football games for PSG include a French Cup semi-final against Rennes and a Champions League quarter-final first leg vs. Barcelona.