Guardiola explains Haaland gives up the penalty

Guardiola said he did not interfere with the choice of Manchester City's penalty kicker.

Guardiola was disappointed with Manchester City's final defeat.

In the FA Cup final on May 17, Manchester City, home team at the Etihad Stadium, lost to Crystal Palace 0-1. The focus of the game was Omar Marmush's penalty kick. However, fans' reactions have focused more on Haaland's controversial decision to give the penalty to Marmush.

During the half-time break, former England star Rooney said on the BBC that the decision to choose a penalty kicker was decided in advance by Guardiola. However, in the post-match interview, the Spanish coach denied this.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to them about this. It's their own decision. Penalties are always handled like this. I like the players taking responsibility," Guardiola said.

When asked further about this, Guardiola said: "We haven't discussed this because it's something that has been discussed in previous meetings. For situations like penalty or free kicks, the executor's feeling is very important. The players think Omar is ready. But I think Omar stayed in front of the ball for too long. He stopped, took the ball, and then shot - which added extra pressure to himself. And Dean Henderson made an excellent save."

gave the penalty to Marmush, which cost Haaland the chance to score in the final. This game against Crystal Palace is Haaland's ninth consecutive final failed to score. If we count the game at Wembley Stadium, Haaland failed to score in six games played at this stadium.

This is the first time since 2017 that Manchester City has finished the season with a zero championship (except the Community Shield). This is also the second time in Guardiola's coaching career that he failed to win any championship in a certain season.