Pep Guardiola waxes lyrical about Erling Haaland's all-round quality

Forum 1 year ago

Pep Guardiola waxes lyrical about Erling Haaland's all-round quality

Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Erling Haaland after the Manchester City striker bagged a brace in their Champions League opener against Sevilla on Tuesday night.

All eyes were on Haaland ahead of the match with the Norwegian heading into it on the back of scoring seven goals in three games, and he picked up where he left off in Spain.

It took him just 20 minutes to give his side the lead, turning in a cross from Kevin De Bruyne, and he doubled his tally just after the hour mark, tapping in a rebound after Phil Foden had an effort saved.

Unsurprisingly, Guardiola couldn't be happier with his new striker, and the fact that his performances are making him the focus of every press conference.

"I love this routine and it's been a routine in every single press conference after games talking about him and his goals. Hopefully he can continue this routine," the manager said.

"The numbers speak for themselves. It's not just the two goals, it's always he's there, always he's there. It's always the feeling that he could score more goals.

"His numbers all his career, even previous teams, is quite similar. He has an incredible sense of goal."

Foden was Man City's other stand-out player against Sevilla, creating Haaland's second goal and scoring one himself.

It was a much-needed boost for the 22-year-old who, in Guardiola's opinion, hasn't started the season particularly well, and he is happy for the England international to have off-days given what he can offer the team.

"Lately he is not playing so good, but he always does a job and runs and fights and he's stable for the team," he added.

"You can play badly because you are human, but you can never do what Phil does every single game and that's why he deserves to play."