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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola explained his frantic exchange with Erling Haaland at half-time of their 3-0 win over Burnley.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed the details of what looked like a heated exchange between himself and Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.
The former Dortmund forward scored a brace in the Cityzen's 3-0 trouncing of Burnley, and despite a half-time 2-0 lead courtesy of the Norwegian, Guardiola was seen talking to him frantically at halftime. The Spaniard has now come out to explain the situation.
The match in brief
The Premier League champions did not take time to establish their dominance against the newly promoted Clarets, with Haaland scoring the opener in the 4th minute of the game.
He doubled his and his team's tally in the 36th minute, before a Rodri strike from close range closed off scoring in the 75th minute.
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What Guardiola said
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the former Barcelona boss was asked about his animated exchange with last season's Premier League Golden Boot winner, and Guardiola revealed that it was not a major issue.
He explained that the striker was constantly asking for the ball from his teammates, but it was impossible to get the ball to him at all times.
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Right before the half-time whistle, Bernardo Silva opted to keep possession rather than release an adventurous pass into the path of Haaland, much to the irritation of the striker.
Guardiola believes the Portuguese made the right call and said the team will improve on their chemistry.
"He always wants the ball to him, every time, but this is not possible with man to man," Pep said, per the BBC.
Put the balls in behind and go and run. But when you have few minutes left [of the half], Bernardo was right to not give him the ball.
"Not an incident, just understanding the connection and learning what we have to do. No problem at all, he scored two goals and he's happy."
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