By Simon Bajkowski
Copyright manchestereveningnews
Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva were in agreement after Manchester City slipped to a late draw against Monaco. The manager has to speak to the media and the captain chose to, with a united message: City had played well before being undone by late controversy. There was frustration, but also satisfaction in doing most things right. Veering wildly off script then was Erling Haaland. The No.9 was picked by broadcasters to do several interviews and did not hold his tongue in any of them. He told one about how ****** off he was about the result, blasted Nico Gonzalez for giving the penalty away in another and criticised the ‘stupid mistakes’ of the team in a third. It is not the first time he has sent a rocket up the backsides of his teammates this season, albeit it was the first time he has appeared so out of step with his captain and manager. It will be interesting to see how the comments will be received by Guardiola given Haaland is now one of the five leaders in the squad. City’s manager may want a quiet word with his striker to remind him not to let his frustration get the better of him. It is extremely difficult when microphones are shoved in front of you as you walk off the pitch, yet holding your tongue is part of the responsibility of leading the team. At the same time, City are not going to get anywhere with just one or two voices. Silva made that clear on the eve of the game, pointing out that previous successes have been built on having ’10 or 15′ strong characters in the squad who don’t need an armband to step up. There were mixed emotions from Blues at the final whistle, and Haaland articulated one side of the debate after the game. It doesn’t matter how good City play if they can’t get enough points to progress to the next round. That is where Haaland is coming from, having felt the pain of last season’s early exit as deeply as anyone. “We have it in the back of our heads that you cannot start losing in the Champions League because every single game is difficult,” he explained. He knows it, and City need to if they are to make this season a successful one. Rather than seeing the views of their No.9 as a loose cannon after the frustration of his two goals not being backed up well enough, the Blues have to embrace a culture of no excuses. Just as they couldn’t put their late draw at Arsenal on a lack of rest, some poor officiating in Monaco does not excuse a game that should have already been won. Guardiola rightly pointed to the positive of creating so many chances, but they have to be finished. The overarching message, certainly in public, has to be the one that coach and captain put out. City are still building themselves back up after a bruising year and need to vocalise the improvements that have been made since August. If they are serious about challenging though, Haaland’s style and forthright assessments have to be embraced as well. They need as many leaders as they can get. — Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .
