A FURIOUS Pep Guardiola slapped away a Sky Sports camera after shouting at forward Erling Haaland.
Guardiola was in typically demanding form as he laid into his star centre-forward despite him scoring two goals during the champions’ first half against Burnley.
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Haaland didn’t seem to react to Pep
The forward had just scored two
Pep then slapped the camera
Before walking away and down the tunnel
The Catalan marched over to Haaland with arms outstretched and was clearly demanding more from the player – despite him bagging a brace in the first half.
Much of what he said was inaudible but he was heard shouting “That was totally the opposite” before walking to slap the broadcast camera away.
Haaland appeared to be completely nonplussed by what his manager was saying and did not reveal a response to Pep’s provocation on the pitch.
He then took off his hairband to allow his substantial blonde locks to dangle.
Fans were quick to react to Pep’s antics on Twitter, with one saying: “Pep pushing the camera & shouting at his Striker who’s bagged two goals nobody cares – but if that had been a certain Jose Mourinho they’d be in fuc uproar and talking about it for months.”
Another responded: “What more does he want?”
A third said: “Pep is never satisfied.”
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Talking to the media after the game, the Spanish leader also clarified the reason for scolding the Norwegian striker:the reason was from Haaland’s angry attitude with Bernardo Silva not passing the ball quickly to him to score more goals. when the first half has a few minutes left.
“Haaland always wanted the ball for him, all the time. But in a situation where there were only about 2 minutes left in the first half and Kovacic ran into the back and lost the ball, Rodri lost the ball. Haaland wanted the ball but Bernardo Silva was right not to pass it to him. We have to change to keep the 2-0 lead.”
Bernardo Silva decided not to pass to Haaland in the last seconds of the first half
For his part, Haaland shared when asked: “I try to focus every day and always say I am very happy to work with Pep Guardiola. I have to keep improving because I’m still young.
“I don’t think I can learn from anyone better than him. That incident was a situation near the end of the first half, because I was a bit angry that Bernardo Silva didn’t pass it to me. Maybe he’s a little mad at me, too. But there is no problem, the key is that Man City has a smooth launch.”
However, Man City’s opening victory of the Premier League 2023/24 against Burnley was incomplete when De Bruyne relapsed with a hamstring injury, having to leave the field after only 23 minutes.