Pep Guardiola denied his nominated penalty taker, Erling Haaland, was unprofessional in allowing Ilkay Gündogan to take a late spot-kick he then missed but the manager did criticise the German for his actions in Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Leeds.
Victory took the defending champions four points ahead of Arsenal with four matches left, but City endured a more difficult end to the game after Gündogan hit a post from the spot. Haaland had handed the ball to the midfielder, who had scored City’s two goals, to allow him to secure a hat-trick. Immediately after the miss, Guardiola strode to the touchline and shouted to Haaland: “You have to take it.”
Leeds’s Rodrigo scored soon after to make it a nervy finish. The manager was asked if Haaland had been unprofessional in offering the midfielder a chance to score a third. “How can you say unprofessional? Erling, after the [victory on Wednesday] over West Ham, went to have treatment with Rúben Dias here at 11pm,” he said. “It shows how nice and generous Erling is. But the game is not over. If it is 4-0 with 10 minutes left, OK. But at 2-0? Erling is the best penalty taker right now so he has to take it.
“Today Erling could have scored two or three goals. He played incredibly well, in his movement and everything – how he fought for us. I like to praise Erling when he does not score. If Gündo scores everyone is: ‘OK, hat-trick, well done.’ But a taker is a taker. At 2-0, this is a business, not a situation where we cannot forget it.”
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Gündogan did not receive a handshake from his irate manager when he was substituted in added time. The player said: “First he showed to Erling that he was quite mad about that and then also he had a go at me. It is what it is at the end. The moment Erling grabbed the ball, I was sure he was going to take it but he looked out for me. I checked with him a few times to make sure he was sure. He was certain to hand the ball to me. I was confident that I would score.”
Defeat in Sam Allardyce’s first game as the manager left Leeds with 30 points and above the relegation zone on goal difference, having played a match more than the bottom three sides. “We assess on Monday,” said Allardyce. “There may be a few changes going into the Newcastle game. I am not upbeat because we got no points. I am pleased with what they have done in the second half and not embarrassed themselves and showed some fighting spirit. We can build the confidence next week and play better for 90 minutes, not just 45.”
