Roy Keane praised 'Championship player' Erling Haaland after the striker's goal in Manchester City's 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
City were not up to their best in the first half, Forest had the better chances and could have been two or three goals away from Kevin De Bruyne's corner kick before Josko Gvardiol headed home.
Pep Guardiola's substitution at half-time turned the tide in City's favor. De Bruyne was once again the creator, setting the stage for Haaland's 32nd goal of the season.
“He was getting so much better!”
Despite such a goalscoring streak, Keane recently likened the Norwegian's contribution to the game to that of a “League 2 striker” and referred to controversial views in his analysis of his performances. did.
talk sky sports After the match, Keane said: In terms of a goalscorer he is really good and there is no doubt about the quality of his finishing.
“When he comes on, you want to influence the game. And when you have a player like De Bruyne and the games go long, he's going to find you. And that's what he shows. Just a little bit of sharpness.”
Keene title prediction
Looking back at the weekend when Liverpool drew with West Ham. Arsenal beat Tottenham in the North London derbyKeane believes City can win the title.
“The City players have to have a lot of faith in themselves and each other. After 20 or 25 minutes you would think that Forest were doing well and creating chances, but in the end City still I still think he's going to get better,” Keane added.
“In the second half City had more control and brought on Haaland. [Kevin] Then De Bruyne starts flexing his muscles.
“De Bruyne scored two goals but overall he wasn't at his best, but they know they need to step up another gear.
“They played a tough game in midweek, but they were great. Today was about getting the job done.
“Phil Foden lost, but what I look at when I look at Manchester City and their players and their subs…the word that comes to mind is 'quality'. It's the pure quality from the players they have. It's quality.
“Even today, when they're not in their groove, they can turn into set-pieces with their delivery, their people attacking the ball, their options off the bench. They're very hard to stop.”