Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hails Erling Haaland’s talent and compares him to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi in terms of his goal-scoring skills
The footballing world has been stunned by news of Erling Haaland’s impressive performances for Manchester City. The young Norwegian striker has already exceeded all expectations, becoming the club’s top scorer in a single season and drawing comparisons to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi of none other than his coach Pep Guardiola.
Haaland’s most recent feat was a 4-1 win over Southampton, where he scored an incredible brace, including a spectacular overhead kick that stunned fans and critics alike. Alongside Haaland’s goals, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez also scored to seal the win for City.
Haaland has a staggering 30 goals in 27 Premier League games in his debut season and could add another 10 in the last nine games of the season.
What did Pep Guardiola say?
Guardiola, on the other hand, has firmly stated that Lionel Messi is the most balanced player in the game while Haaland has exceptional talent.
Guardiola spoke about this after the game: “In the sense of the goal shot theory. He’s quite similar to Cristiano, but Messi is the more complete player.”
Pep Guardiola on comparing Haaland to Messi and Ronaldo 🗣 pic.twitter.com/skY4iHv85k
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 9, 2023
While comparisons to Ronaldo are flattering, it’s evident that Guardiola still thinks Messi is the greatest player in football. He added: “Messi can play anywhere while Cristiano and Erling are machines. Erling knows these two guys dominated for two decades, not just a season or two, winning titles and doing everything. Football is a better place for Cristiano and Messi for what they’ve done for our business and for the traction of these two guys competing at the big clubs.”
“Erling arrives in the toughest league in the world. I can speak like I was in other leagues and to do what he did is remarkable.”
What’s next for City and Haaland?
Haaland has up to nine more Premier League games to play and if he continues to score at his current rate, he could add another ten goals before the end of the season.
That would bring Haaland’s total to 40 and break Andy Cole’s (1993/94) and Alan Shearer (1994/95) Premier League record of 34 in a season. These records were set over the course of a 42-game season. Mohamed Salah holds the current record for most goals in a 38-game season at 32.
City, reigning Premier League champions, are still six points behind leaders Arsenal, who suffered a 2-2 draw at Liverpool today. The Citizens will end the week with one game more than their title rivals.
Guardiola’s City could end up winning the Premier League three times in a row and Guardiola’s fifth overall. Manchester City will host FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Thursday in the first leg of the quarter-finals. They will then resume their title load when they face Leicester City on Saturday.