Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has hit back at Roy Keane for his remarks on striker Erling Haaland after the goalless draw against Arsenal on Sunday (Mar 31). City dropped two points at home in the fixture and were criticised by Keane who termed Haaland as a League 2 (fourth division of English football) striker for his unimpressive performance. However, Pep has now hit back at Keane, claiming he is a second or third-division manager.

Pep hits back at Keane

“I do not agree with him, absolutely not. He’s a manager for the second or third league? I don’t think so,” said Guardiola.

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“He’s the best striker in the world and he helped us win what we won last season. The reason why we didn’t create many chances [vs Arsenal] was not Erling, it’s that we need more presence in the final third with more people,” Guardiola added.

Keane, while in the studio for Sky Sports after the City-Arsenal match claimed that Haaland was the worst player on the pitch. He also claimed that the Norwegian needs to improve his overall game if he has to achieve long-term success.

“He’s almost like a League Two player – that’s the way I look at him. His general play has to improve. It will do over the next few years. [He’s a] brilliant striker but he has to improve his overall game,” Keane had said on Haaland after Manchester City’s goalless draw against Arsenal on Sunday.

City host Villa

City will host Aston Villa in a big battle at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday (April 3) evening with the game having a bearing on both the title race and the race for the Champions League places. Aston Villa are third in the standings and could open a five-point gap with a win at the Etihad Stadium while a win for City will see them close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League standings.

As things stand, City are third in the Premier League with 64 points while Villa are fourth with 59 points. A win for Villa could also see them trim the gap between them and City to two points as they still have an outside chance of challenging for the Premier League title. If results go Villa’s way in the midweek, they could be within five points of Liverpool and still have to face the Reds and Arsenal in the Premier League.

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