To coach Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland is on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but the most comprehensive Argentine star.
“We’ve gone through two incredible decades with Ronaldo and Messi, but now, Haaland is at that level,” Guardiola said after Man City beat 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.”
According to the Spanish coach, Haaland has an incredible mindset and is very professional. He also said 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.
Guest at St. Mary’s, Man City encountered many difficulties and opened the scoring in the 45th minute. From Kevin de Bruyne’s cross on the left, Haaland ran to find a position and headed home to knock out goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. Haaland’s second goal was even more impressive, coming from Man City’s quick counter-attack. In the 68th minute, from Jack Grealish’s slight cross, the Norwegian striker leaned the ball with his left foot to the far corner.
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. He said: “Haaland knows Messi and Ronaldo dominated for two decades, not just a year or two, but two decades, scoring goals, breaking records, winning trophies and doing everything. Messi and Ronaldo make 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.
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.”
On April 11, Haaland and Man City will host Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals and then meet Leicester in the 31st round of the Premier League on April 15.
