Pep Guardiola fires warning to Haaland's critics after dealing with family loss

That is the view of his boss Pep Guardiola, who has hailed the Citizens star as he grieves the death of his grandmother.

Haaland equalled an unwanted club record in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Chelsea by missing nine chances.

But he achieved a stunning personal feat on Tuesday night at the Etihad with his goal seeing him now score against every Premier League team he has faced.

And Guardiola was quick to send a warning to the Norway international's doubters, who has now scored 22 in all competitions this season.

He said in his post-match press conference: "With top scorers or strikers who score a lot of goals, don't criticise because he will shut your mouth, that's for sure.

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"Definitely, if I have to choose one [player to be running through on goal], I choose this one.

"He was out with injury for two months and is not in his best shape and just had an incredibly tough week because he lost his grandmother.

"That is not easy for a human being. Of course, he is not in his best shape, but it's normal after two months."

Commenting on how Haaland is handling the passing of his grandmother, Guardiola remarked: "We spoke about the moment and I realised this later.

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"But he didn't say anything about the passing away of his grandmother. We talked about how he feels and for his father.

"In this type of games like Brentford, you need Erling and the spaces with a typical striker."

Victory for City over the Bees has seen them leapfrog Arsenal into second spot in the table and just one point behind leaders Liverpool.

Though the Reds could extend their lead to four points should they beat Luton at Anfield on Wednesday night.