Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored twice to reach 30 in the Premier League this season as Pep Guardiola’s men beat Southampton 4-1 to close the gap with Premier League leaders Arsenal to five point.
Coach Pep Guardiola believes his student Erling Haaland is now close to what Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have achieved when the Norwegian striker is in unstoppable form.
Haaland is in terrible form and unstoppable.
Haaland has brought his tally of goals across all competitions this season to a staggering 44. Haaland’s first goal against Southampton was a familiar header from Kevin De Bruyne’s beautiful cross. Haaland’s second goal was such a beautiful upside-down bike that even the Southampton fans applauded.
Coach Pep Guardiola has never been one to exaggerate the talents of his players. But the owner of Man City could not contain himself when he confessed:
“We’ve gone through two incredible decades with Ronaldo and Messi, but now, Haaland is at the same level,” Guardiola said after Man City beɑt Southampton 4-1 in the 30th round of the Premier League.
“In terms of scoring, Haaland is quite similar to Ronaldo, but Messi is more comprehensive. Messi can play many positions, while Haaland and Ronaldo are like scoring machines.”
Pep thinks Haaland is more like Ronaldo
According to the Spanish coach, Haaland has an incredible mindset and is very professional. He also said that Haaland is often only disappointed for a few minutes after missing an opportunity and then immediately regains focus and moves on to the next situation.
“Haaland is under the same pressure as Messi and Ronaldo. When you don’t score in two or three games, people wonder what happened,” added Guardiola.
Twice to tear the net against Southampton, Haaland reached the 30-goal mark in the Premier League this season. He is the third striker to do so in his first season in the league, after Andrew Cole (34 goals in 1993-1994) and Kevin Phillips (30 in 1999-2000).
According to Guardiola, the successes and persistence of Messi and Ronaldo will be the motivation for Haaland to continue to strive for self-improvement. “Haaland knows Messi and Ronaldo dominated for two decades, not just a year or two, but two decades, scoring goals, breɑking records, winning trophies and doing everything,” he said.
Pep wants Haaland to maintain the same endurance as Messi and Ronaldo
“The rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo makes football better. Haaland is only 22 years old, has come to the toughest tournament in the world and has a remarkable track record.”
Haaland is expected to set a record of 34 goals in a season in the Premier League, held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole when the league has a total of 42 games. The record for the most goals scored in a season over 38 matches belongs to Mohamed Salah – the Egyptian star scored 32 goals in the 2017-2018 season.
Haaland is only 8 goals away from equaling Salah’s record
In the last four matches in all competitions, Haaland also scored 11 goals, averaging nearly three goals per game. In total since the beginning of the season, he has scored 44 goals in just 37 games.
Guardiola admired Haaland’s scoring ability as “unbelievable”, but stressed that his students had much to do to achieve the same status as Ronaldo and Messi. The Spanish coach identified the Norwegian striker’s physique as a potential barrier to keeping fit for a long time.
He explained: “Ronaldo and Messi are not injured. Haaland is tall, big, needs a lot of care, not just one but many people.”