LONDON — Pep Guardiola admitted he thought Erling Haaland would take Manchester City’s penalty during their FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace and revealed it was “decided on the pitch” that Omar Marmoush would step up before his miss.
Guardiola’s side were beaten 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday as Palace lifted the first major trophy in their history.
City had the chance to cancel out Eberechi Eze’s opener when they were awarded a penalty following Tyrick Mitchell’s challenge on Bernardo Silva.
Haaland initially took the ball before passing it Marmoush, whose spot-kick was saved by Dean Henderson.
“They decided on the pitch,” Guardiola said.
“I don’t know. I didn’t speak with them. I thought he [Haaland] would want to take it. These are things for them.
“That moment for the free kick, for the penalty, it’s the feeling and how they feel. They decided Omar was ready to take it. Henderson made a good save.”
Speaking on the BBC’s broadcast, former England and Man United forward Wayne Rooney said it was not typical for strikers to pass up a chance at scoring a penalty.
“Erling Haaland is a world-class forward, but when we’re talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s no way they’re giving that ball away,” Rooney said.
“That’s what separates them two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players. They are selfish and they want to score every game.
“When he [Haaland] misses chances I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him. Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him. You never know; he’s a human being.”
Henderson was fortunate to still be on the pitch after appearing to handle the ball outside his area as Haaland chased a long pass over Palace’s defense.
The incident was reviewed by VAR, but it was deemed that he had not prevented a clear goal-scoring opportunity and escaped a red card.
Guardiola was asked about the decision, but refused to give his opinion.
“Ask the VAR and the referee,” he said.
Guardiola and Henderson were also involved in an altercation after the final whistle.
The pair exchanged words on the pitch during Palace’s celebrations, with Guardiola appearing to scold the England goalkeeper for perceived time-wasting.
“He defended his position, we defend our position,” Guardiola said.
“Everyone can do whatever they want. We have to score goals. Congratulations to Henderson and Palace, because they defended really well and we were not able to score a goal.”
