Man City: Pep Guardiola Says Erling Haaland ‘On That Level’ With The Greatest After Win Against Southampton.
Erling Haaland’s goal tally for English Premier League in his first season with City reached a mammoth 30 after he scored a double in the win over Southampton.
There are still 9 games remaining for the season to end and the win will continue City’s chance and keep the pressure on Arsenal for the title race. City could still have 18 more matches to play and if it goes all the way in the FA Cup and Champions League, fifty goals in the season look inevitable for Haaland.
Impressed with Erling Haaland’s superb show in Manchester City’s 4-1 win against Southampton in EPL on Saturday night, coach Pep Guardiola hailed the talented young lad for his acrobatic scissor-kick and comparing him to the greatest of the game.
Guardiola’s Praise For Halaand
Haaland backed away from his marker, set himself with his back to the goal, and leaped high to deliver an acrobatic scissor-kick into the bottom corner.
On Erling Haaland’s performance, Pep Guardiola said that “The second goal was amazing. It is not easy to pick the ball up in the sky and put it on the grass. His talent is really good and we need him. The first half was not our best level but he changed the game.”
Guardiola added, “As a top scorer we lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but he is on that level. He scores a lot of goals. I am very happy with his 65 minutes after an injury and he helped us again. We lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,” City manager Pep Guardiola said, “but (Haaland) is on that level.”
Wasn’t Easy For City In The First Half
Despite dominating possession in the first half, Manchester City had to survive a couple of Southampton chances before going ahead just before the break with the help of an Erling Haaland header.
After the break, Jack Grealish needed two attempts to beat Gavin Bazunu after being played in behind Kevin De Bruyne. Grealish then turned provider, standing the ball up so that Haaland could score the goal of the game with an overhead kick.
Sekou Mara came off the bench to pull a goal back for Southampton following excellent work by his fellow substitute Mossa Dejenpo, but Southampton were immediately punished for their impertinence when Julian Alvarez, on for Haaland, scored from the spot after Kyle Walker-Peters had fouled Kevin De Bruyne in the Southampton penalty area.
