Pep Guardiola defended Erling Haaland's position within Manchester City, arguing the Norway international is not holding his team back this term.
Haaland scored his fourth hat-trick of the Premier League season to blow past last term's Golden Boot tally and reach 25 in Sunday's 3-0 win over Wolves.
Despite his remarkable figures, City are playing catch-up in the title race as Arsenal continue to set the pace.
Some have pinpointed Haaland as a potential issue, with City sometimes adapting to suit his needs rather than vice-versa, but Guardiola knows the talisman's quality.
"When we lost the Community Shield, all the debates were that he would not adapt to the Premier League," he said.
"When we do not score goals, [people] say he is the problem in this team. We know his quality. We have to adapt some movements for him.
"He is not a player who will take the ball. He has to [have] the balls delivered around him. He's got fantastic players around him. He lives 24 hours for his job.
"He’s not stressed much when it's going well or when it's going bad. His numbers are incredible. But the reality is still that we are behind."
Guardiola issued a scathing attack upon his side's commitment following their 4-2 win over Tottenham earlier this week, having been force to come from two goals down.
Reflecting on a more comfortable victory, the Spaniard acknowledged he had seen improvements, but stressed he would not be getting carried away yet.
"We spoke a little bit what we have to do with the ball," he added. "Without the ball, we didn’t train anything because I would say we didn’t have energy.
"We talk a little bit these days about what we think we miss. It’s just one game. We will see in the future.
"Our football was really, really good. Today we improved. That was just today. We will see what happens in the next games."
Werder Bremen suspend Naby Keita until end of season
Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keita for the rest of the season and imposed a “substantial” fine after accusing him of walking out of Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
The 29-year-old former Liverpool midfielder did not feature in a 5-0 defeat at the Bay Arena, with his club claiming he had chosen “not to travel to the ground with the team and decided to go home instead” after discovering he was not in the starting line-up.
A statement on the club’s official website said: “Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keita until the end of the season. The club have also handed the midfielder a substantial fine.”
Guinea international Keita, the statement added, “will no longer train with the team or be part of the first-team dressing room.”
Bremen’s head of professional football Clemens Fritz said: “As a club, we won’t tolerate Naby’s behaviour.
“He let his team down in a time of difficulty surrounding our recent run of form and squad availability and put his own interests above those of the team. We can’t allow that.
“At this stage of the season, we need full focus on the remaining games and a team who stick together. That’s why we’ve been left with no alternative.”
Leverkusen’s win clinched them the title and left Bremen sitting in 12th place, just five points clear of the bottom three with as many games remaining.
Keita, who had a spell in Germany with RB Leipzig earlier in his career, joined the club as a free agent on a three-year deal last summer following the expiry of his contract at Anfield.
Golden Boot: Cole Palmer moves joint-top as England stars dominate standings
Cole Palmer has joined Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League goal-scorer’s chart after adding four more to his tally in Chelsea’s 6-0 thrashing of Everton.
The Chelsea midfielder surged alongside Manchester City goal machine Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, with both players currently on 20 in the top flight this season.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the top six contenders for the award as the 2023-24 Premier League campaign enters the run-in.
Golden Boot battle
Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 20 goals in 28 appearances
The 21-year-old’s remarkable first season at Chelsea just keeps getting better. Palmer, who did not score a league goal for Manchester City, has notched 10 in his last five league matches, rocketing into Golden Boot contention.
Erling Haaland (Man City) – 20 goals in 26 appearances
Haaland set the Premier League ablaze in 2022-23, claiming a new record of 36 goals in a season. The 23-year-old started like a train again this season before missing five games with a foot injury. Since returning in January he has scored six in 11 appearances, underwhelming by his standards, but the Norway hit man remains a heavy favourite to retain the Golden Boot.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) – 19 goals in 32 appearances
Watkins is enjoying his most prolific season in the top flight, already surpassing his 15 goals from last season, while also providing the most assists (10) of those on this list. The 28-year-old’s current goal conversion rate is better than Haaland’s and he will be hoping to feature for England at the Euros.
Alexander Isak (Newcastle) – 17 goals in 24 appearances
Isak has more than justified Newcastle’s outlay of around £60million after a thigh injury limited his impact in his first campaign at St James’ Park. The 24-year-old is the first Newcastle player since Alan Shearer in 2003-04 to score 20 goals in a season for the club in all competitions.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 17 goals in 26 appearances
Salah has won the Golden Boot on three occasions during his stellar Liverpool career and has scored 20 top-flight goals or more in four of his six previous seasons at the club. The Egypt forward is on course to make that five in seven.
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth) – 17 goals in 32 appearances
When Solanke struck the opener in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United he broke the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a single season by a Bournemouth player. The 26-year-old has produced his best form under Andoni Iraola and could force his way into England’s plans for the Euros.
Southgate’s sharp-shooters
Gareth Southgate must be filled with excitement when he looks at the top 10 scorers in the Premier League this season, with six England players on the list.
Palmer only made his England debut in November but his astonishing form for Chelsea must surely earn him a spot in the squad for this summer’s Euro 2024.
Watkins could find himself in a straight shoot-out with Ivan Toney for the spot as back-up striker to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, while Solanke has just one England cap to his name back in 2017.
Further down the scoring charts, West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has enjoyed a stellar campaign with 15 goals while Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has netted 10 goals since Christmas to take his tally to 14 overall.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, a certain starter for England in Germany injury permitting, also has 14 goals to further add to their firepower.
And when Kane’s 43 goals in all competitions for Bayern and Jude Bellingham’s 22 for Real Madrid are factored in, Southgate’s side are an exciting prospect.
Golden Boot: Cole Palmer moves joint-top as England stars dominate top 10
Cole Palmer has joined Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League goal-scorer’s chart after adding four more to his tally in Chelsea’s 6-0 thrashing of Everton.
The Chelsea midfielder surged alongside Manchester City goal machine Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, with both players currently on 20 in the top flight this season.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the top six contenders for the award as the 2023-24 Premier League campaign enters the run-in.
Golden Boot battle
Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 20 goals in 28 appearances
The 21-year-old’s remarkable first season at Chelsea just keeps getting better. Palmer, who did not score a league goal for Manchester City, has notched 10 in his last five league matches, rocketing into Golden Boot contention.
Erling Haaland (Man City) – 20 goals in 26 appearances
Haaland set the Premier League ablaze in 2022-23, claiming a new record of 36 goals in a season. The 23-year-old started like a train again this season before missing five games with a foot injury. Since returning in January he has scored six in 11 appearances, underwhelming by his standards, but the Norway hit man remains a heavy favourite to retain the Golden Boot.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) – 19 goals in 32 appearances
Watkins is enjoying his most prolific season in the top flight, already surpassing his 15 goals from last season, while also providing the most assists (10) of those on this list. The 28-year-old’s current goal conversion rate is better than Haaland’s and he will be hoping to feature for England at the Euros.
Alexander Isak (Newcastle) – 17 goals in 24 appearances
Isak has more than justified Newcastle’s outlay of around £60million after a thigh injury limited his impact in his first campaign at St James’ Park. The 24-year-old is the first Newcastle player since Alan Shearer in 2003-04 to score 20 goals in a season for the club in all competitions.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 17 goals in 26 appearances
Salah has won the Golden Boot on three occasions during his stellar Liverpool career and has scored 20 top-flight goals or more in four of his six previous seasons at the club. The Egypt forward is on course to make that five in seven.
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth) – 17 goals in 32 appearances
When Solanke struck the opener in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United he broke the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a single season by a Bournemouth player. The 26-year-old has produced his best form under Andoni Iraola and could force his way into England’s plans for the Euros.
Southgate’s sharp-shooters
Gareth Southgate must be filled with excitement when he looks at the top 10 scorers in the Premier League this season, with six England players on the list.
Palmer only made his England debut in November but his astonishing form for Chelsea must surely earn him a spot in the squad for this summer’s Euro 2024.
Watkins could find himself in a straight shoot-out with Ivan Toney for the spot as back-up striker to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, while Solanke has just one England cap to his name back in 2017.
Further down the scoring charts, West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has enjoyed a stellar campaign with 15 goals while Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has netted 10 goals since Christmas to take his tally to 14 overall.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, a certain starter for England in Germany injury permitting, also has 14 goals to further add to England’s firepower.
And when Kane’s 43 goals in all competitions for Bayern and Jude Bellingham’s 22 for Real Madrid are factored in, Southgate’s side are an exciting prospect.
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