Guardiola on Haaland’s opportunity: He has the right to waste it

The Spanish Pep Guardiola, the coach of Manchester City, commented on the missed opportunity of his star Erling Haaland, in defeating Manchester United in the derby with a score of 3-1, in the most prominent matches of the 27th round of the English Football League.

Haaland was only two yards away from Manchester United’s goal when his teammate Phil Foden’s header reached him at the end of the first half, but the Norwegian scorer strangely missed the opportunity to score the goal.

“Haaland has the right to miss the opportunity given his great scoring record,” Guardiola said.

He confirmed: “Our No. 9 player (Haaland) now has 28 goals from 31 matches this season and 80 goals in 84 matches overall, and he scored the third goal against Manchester United in stoppage time to confirm the victory.”

But Haaland’s missed opportunity before half-time left him visibly frustrated, with Guardiola commenting, “He must get over such rare moments quickly.”

He continued: “When he is frustrated, I am frustrated too… I want him to score four or five goals like he did at Luton Town. He can miss this goal and be sad for 10 seconds.”

“He misses five more goals and is sad for 10 seconds in his mind, then erases it and moves on to the next one,” he continued.

The Spanish coach revealed: “The great players I have met and some of whom I have been fortunate to coach have this ability to forget about something in an instant.”

He concluded by saying: “We forget it as quickly as possible. Tennis players, golfers, basketball players, they get lost, and everyone else does too… Smile, be positive, and move on to the next one. That’s what great players are known for, and he does that.”