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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained his anger after Ilkay Gundogan took a penalty instead of Erling Haaland late in the 2-1 win over Leeds on Saturday and ended up missing the spot-kick.
Gundogan was on a hat-trick after two fine finishes put City 2-0 up at half-time and stepped up to take the penalty in the 84th minute at the Etihad, but his effort hit the post and Leeds quickly pulled a goal back through Rodrigo to make it a nervy finale for the Premier League leaders.
Following the German’s miss, Guardiola could be seen by television cameras telling Haaland ‘you have to take it’ and the Catalan was asked about the incident after the match.
“The game is not over,” Guardiola told Match of the Day. “It shows how nice and generous Erling is. If it is 4-0 with 10 minutes left, OK. But at 2-0? Erling is the best penalty taker right now so he has to take it.
“Today Erling could have scored two or three goals. He played incredibly well, in his movement and everything… how he fought for us. I like to praise Erling when he does not score.
“If Gundo scores everyone is ‘OK, hat-trick, well done’. But a taker is a taker. At 2-0, this is a business, not a situation where we cannot forget it.”
Despite the late scare, City held on for the win and lead Arsenal by four points with four rounds of the competition left to play.
Next up for City is their Champions League semi-final first leg away to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
