Erling Haaland needs to "play with passion" against defenders who attempt to unsettle him, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Haaland scored his 21st Premier League goal since arriving from Borussia Dortmund during the 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday.
But images emerged after the game of the Norway international arguing with Toffees centre-back Ben Godfrey, while James Tarkowski and Conor Coady were also involved in confrontations with the striker.
Guardiola was pleased with how the 22-year-old Haaland handled himself against three experienced Premier League defenders trying to wind him up, although he stressed he had to draw a line somewhere.
"I like it," Guardiola told reporters ahead of City's league visit to Chelsea on Thursday. "He just needs to limit his behaviour, not him [but] everyone.
"The decisions, you have to use here [points to head] but play with this passion. It is necessary. I prefer that than to be flat.
"Strikers have to handle tough central defenders. Tomorrow he'll have a battle with [Kalidou] Koulibaly, Thiago Silva. That's why the Premier League is so special."
Haaland has taken the Premier League by storm since joining City in June, becoming the fastest player to score 20 goals in the competition, doing so in just 14 games, seven fewer than previous record-holder Kevin Phillips.
However, Guardiola feels Haaland can become even better, saying: "A lot of things he has to improve.
"As much as he continues scoring goals, he still has margin to improve on many things. Of course, he's young, and he'll be better in the future."
Guardiola left it until the 87th minute against Everton before making a change, with substitutes Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and returning World Cup winner Julian Alvarez unable to steal three points late on.
Asked whether this was an error looking back, Guardiola replied: "Yes, definitely. What was the result? Yeah, a mistake.
"But even with substitutions 15 minutes earlier, maybe we would've lost. Maybe I should've done it earlier, but in that moment I took a decision."
Arsenal took advantage of City's draw with Everton by beating Brighton and Hove Albion to extend their lead at the Premier League summit to seven points, although a goalless draw at home to Newcastle United on Tuesday means Guardiola's men can close the gap to five points with victory at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners may have missed the opportunity to momentarily open a 10-point gap, but Guardiola was still impressed with their performance – albeit he is also pleased with how his team have played since returning from the World Cup.
"The way they [Arsenal] played yesterday impressed me a lot," Guardiola added. "They dropped two points, but not in the quality they played.
"The way we played the last games, the feeling is good. My target always as a manager is try to do better than the opposition. First of all, be yourself, [but] if it doesn't happen, it's football.
"What I want to see is we still want to fight. We don't give up, until the last chance we can fight and win the Premier League."
Bellingham alone won't win Euros for England - Desailly
England cannot rely on Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham alone to win them the Euro 2024 crown, according to France great Marcel Desailly.
Bellingham has enjoyed a sensational debut campaign at Madrid that has seen him score 21 goals in all competitions and assist eight more.
Despite still being aged just 20, the youngster will already have the weight of a nation on his shoulders in the European Championship finals.
Desailly is a big fan of Bellingham, but he suggests Gareth Southgate may have to consider tweaking formation if England are to succeed.
"Too much quality can kill the quality," Desailly told Stats Perform. "This is your problem, you see?
"All the players have to be able to perform at the same time and help each other. The Dutch have had this kind of problem in the past.
"The Dutch always have high levels of expertise, but every time it was difficult for them to all unite together at the same time and perform.
"The talent is there for England, even though Fabio Capello has said their defence is a bit weak, which I agree with.
"But too much quality kills the quality. Let's see how the coach is able to adjust the side and make certain choices.
"He may have to remove some of the players into a different tactical system to protect the team for the performances needed."
Bellingham's latest goal came in added time to earn Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Barcelona in a thrilling Clasico clash last weekend.
He is already being mentioned as a frontrunner to win this year's Ballon d'Or, which could depend on how England perform in the Euros.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace is also being likened to one of the all-time greats in Zinedine Zidane, but Desailly says there is a long way to go.
"In the game against Barcelona, he wasn't outstanding yet he was still key for his team," the World Cup 98 and Euro 2000 winner said.
"Carlo Ancelotti took Vinicius Junior off because he knew what Bellingham could give him in that position.
"He also has the legs to defend and score the killer goal, or use his cleverness for the collective of the team.
"He's a good player. But trying to compare him to Zidane? It is difficult for us to accept he could be at that level.
"There are differences between them, but the potential of the talents is quite similar."
Austin FC v LA Galaxy: 'I'm happy with where we're at' – Vanney
LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney is satisfied with where his team are at in their development, with the next step for him being better game management.
The Galaxy beat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-3 last time out, and they are top of the Western Conference with 18 points from nine games.
Next up is a trip to Austin FC, who have won three of their last four MLS fixtures.
“We want to build some momentum and keep looking at things we can keep improving,” said Vanney.
“Austin are a team that are improving, they’ve figured out a few things with their group.
“All these games on the road are difficult, we’ve got to keep taking steps forward, learning from each of these games, things we can carry on into the next game and be a little better. I’m happy with where we’re at, for sure, and the process continues.”
The Galaxy raced into a 3-0 lead against the ‘Quakes, though Vanney was disappointed with how his side failed to maintain control.
He said: “At 3-0 with an opportunity to see it off into half-time, they score a goal that helps them get back into it, so I think game management is an important piece of that.
“Again, I think inside of that, is choosing our moments when we can really force the opposition to defend in numbers in their half of the field, burn their spirit a bit or really force them to work to get the ball back so they don’t really see a great way back into the game. Sometimes we rush attacks and the game starts to open up – we need to make sure the game stays controlled because we have everything to gain from that scenario.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Austin FC – Emiliano Rigoni
Rigoni scored his first goal of the season last time out, netting in Austin’s 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo. Fourteen different Austin FC players have been involved in at least one goal this year, tied with Sporting Kansas City for most in MLS in 2024.
LA Galaxy – Joseph Paintsil
Paintsil has a goal and an assist in each of the Galaxy’s last two matches. The last player to do so in three straight MLS matches was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, also for the Galaxy, in September 2019.
MATCH PREDICTION: AUSTIN FC WIN
The Galaxy have won four of their last five matches, including the last two in a row, following a 4—3 win over San Jose on Sunday. However, they have not won three in a row in all competitions since a four-match run in August-September 2020.
Austin, on the other hand, have won three of its last four matches, including their last two at home. Austin’s only three-match home winning streak since the start of the 2022 season came in June-July 2023.
The Galaxy have lost only one of their six matches against Austin FC (W4 D1 L1), but just one of their four wins over the Verde has come in Austin (W1 D1 L1).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Austin FC – 51.2%
LA Galaxy – 23.3%
Draw – 25.5%
Courtois set to return from injury after long absence
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is set to return for the final stretch of the season after making a full recovery from two knee injuries, Carlo Ancelotti said.
Madrid boss Ancelotti said he will be cautious with Courtois, who has not played this season after sustaining an ACL tear in August and a torn meniscus in March.
Stand-in Andriy Lunin will start Friday's LaLiga match at Real Sociedad and Tuesday's Champions League semi-final, first leg at Bayern Munich.
However, Courtois should be back next week.
"I have to think carefully about the lineup moving forward. There has been a lot of wear and tear. Courtois is fine, he will be available next week and could play against Cadiz," Ancelotti said in a press conference on Thursday.
Courtois's injury was expected to be a serious blow for Madrid's hopes this season, but Ukrainian Lunin has been an able stand-in, establishing himself as first choice ahead of former Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Belgian's absence.
Lunin was Madrid's penalty hero as they beat Manchester City to reach the Champions League semi-finals, making two saves in their 4-3 shootout win after an inspired performance as they drew their quarter-final second leg 1-1.
The 31-year-old Courtois, however, is widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world and is likely to regain his starting spot with a LaLiga-Champions League double up for grabs.
He was named Player-of-the-Match in the 2022 Champions League final after producing a memorable performance, making nine saves to deny Liverpool as Madrid clinched a record-extending 14th European title with a 1-0 win in Paris.
Madrid are brimming with confidence following their 3-2 comeback win over bitter rivals Barcelona on Sunday.
The LaLiga leaders' pursuit of a record-extending 36th Spanish title gathered momentum as they moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with six games left.
Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo are doubts for Friday's game due to illness and Ferland Mendy is still recovering from a leg injury, but Ancelotti said his side will go all-out as they look to edge closer to the league title.
"With all the enthusiasm in the world, the objective is very clear, there are seven points left for us to win the league. We have to get them as soon as possible," Ancelotti said.
"Until the mathematics don't guarantee us the title, we have to fight. The momentum is very good, it's important that we continue to compete and get the most out of it. Win as much as possible. Winning is the best thing to keep momentum going, that's why we have to win tomorrow."
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