Pep Guardiola has hit back at Roy Keane over his brutal criticism of Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland.
Former Manchester United skipper Keane said Haaland was “almost like a League Two player” after the striker failed to spark in Sunday's drab 0-0 title showdown with Arsenal.
Haaland bagged a record-breaking 52 goals last season and has 29 to his name this season, despite missing two months of the season with a stress fracture of the foot.
But that did not stop Keane from laying into Haaland in his post-match analysis for Sky Sports, his stinging criticism earning an equally blunt response from City boss Guardiola.
“I'm not agreeing with him,” said Guardiola. “Absolutely not. It’s like if I said he’s a manager for the second or third league. I don’t think so. So he’s the best striker in the world and he helped us to win what we won last season and the reason why we don’t create many chances is not because of Erling.
“We needed more presence in the final third with more people and we played an exceptional game against Arsenal. I reviewed it. We just missed more people in the final third, maybe for the quality and different skills we have, but Erling is exceptional.”
Champions City, who trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by three points with nine games left to play, host Aston Villa tonight. The Treble winners will still be without first-choice goalkeeper Ederson and right-back Kyle Walker, who is also set to miss next week's Champions League quarter-final, first-leg tie away to Real Madrid.
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