Pep Guardiola insists Erling Haaland will score on ‘another day’
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that summer signing Erling Haaland will score on ‘another day’ after the superstar striker missed several chances in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool on Saturday evening.
Haaland arrived at City off the back of 134 goals in 137 appearances for club and country since the start of the 2019/20 season and immediately got off the mark in sky blue in pre-season.
But the 21-year-old Norwegian failed to convert any of his three shots during the annual curtain raiser, which Liverpool went on to win 3-1 to claim the first minor silverware of the season, as well as early bragging rights between the rival clubs.
Guardiola has previously spoken about Haaland needing time to regain full fitness – the player missed two chunks of last season with Borussia Dortmund because of injury – and didn’t seem unduly concerned about his striker’s inability to find the net.
“He had chances – two or three in the first half and one at the end. Always he was there. He fought a lot and made the movements,” the boss explained, via ManCity.com.
“It’s good for him to see the reality of the new country, new league. He was there. Today he didn’t score – another day he will score.”
City have played their last pre-season game – a charity friendly against Barcelona is still to come in late August – and will begin the Premier League campaign away at West Ham on Sunday 7 August.
Guardiola’s side will face newly promoted Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest before the end of the opening month and don’t meet one of last season’s top four until hosting Tottenham in gameweek seven. A rematch with Liverpool will follow a few weeks later in mid-October.
