Ilkay Gundogan agrees with Pep Guardiola about Erling Haaland doubts at Man City

Such is the reactionary nature of football fandom, plenty of fans and pundits were quick to jump on the Erling Haaland skepticism bandwagon after his underwhelming performance in the Community Shield last weekend.

Haaland was by no means terrible in Manchester City's 3-1 loss to Liverpool, but on a day when City did not play particularly well as a team he failed to make much of an impact.

A glaring miss in injury-time — when City were already 3-1 down — was the icing on the cake for his critics, but teammate Ilkay Gundogan believes it would be foolish for anyone to question the striker's ability. While conducting an online Q&A on his Twitter account, City's German midfielder was asked if he thought Haaland will make a big impact the club this season.

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"There’s no point in questioning him," Gundogan replied. "With his determination and desire to score goals, he will win us a lot of games."

That's no-doubt the thinking of City and Pep Guardiola too, hence why the club parted with £51m to bring him to the Etihad Stadium. While a striker-less City lead the Premier League scoring charts last season with 99 goals, Haaland has been brought in to score the half chances that can prove the difference in big games, especially in the Champions League.

Speaking to reporters ahead of City's opening Premier League fixture against West Ham, Guardiola was of the same opinion as Gundogan.

He said: "If people have doubts he [Haaland] is going to score goals — he is going to score the goals like he’s done every year. The chances are always there — he has this sense, he is a good finisher."

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