Ilkay Gundogan defends Erling Haaland after Jamie Carragher criticism

Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has served up the perfect response to Jamie Carragher over bizarre comments he made about Erling Haaland signing for the “wrong club” when he joined them.

After City suffered a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, Erling Haaland was criticised by Jamie Carragher for not being the right fit at the Etihad as he isn’t always heavily involved in building attacks.

Along with several others, though, Gundogan has rebuffed those claims. He defended his teammate in quotes to Sky Sports Germany (h/t Sport Witness), however, suggesting Haaland’s outstanding goalscoring record proves he fits in the team.

Gundogan said: “If you score 25 goals in 20 games, you fit into a team! Our game has become a bit different because of Erling’s qualities. Both he and the team have to adjust to that. We’ve already had outstanding games in this campaign, and I can remember that a few weeks ago everything was hyped up.”

However, while the Germany international defended Haaland, the midfielder admits there is no room for error in their latest title defence. He added: “It’s important for us to keep calm, as we have to realise that we weren’t good enough in these last few games.

“That goes for everyone. Everyone has to look in the mirror and know that they have to step it up a notch and, if we want to close the gap on Arsenal, then we cannot afford any more mistakes.”