Pep Guardiola described Erling Haaland’s goalscoring figures as “spectacular” on the day he scored his tenth hat-trick for City against Ipswich Town.
Haaland scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, his 10th in just over two seasons, taking his tally to 94 goals in 96 starts for City.
The coach said that these numbers put him on par with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in front of goal.
“He did it in Salzburg. He did it in Germany. The numbers are spectacular,” the manager told reporters at his press conference after the match against Ipswich Town.
“He can compete in terms of goals with Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.”
“His numbers are incredible for his age. He is an incredible threat for us and we are very happy to have him.”
“I hope I can be here for many years. That would be very good for us.”
“He is very important for us. His numbers speak for themselves.”
Guardiola believes his long summer break has boosted Haaland’s fitness for the 2024/25 season.
After missing out on Euro 2024 following Norway’s failure to qualify for the event, the striker has returned with a vengeance, scoring four goals in two Premier League games.
The manager is very pleased with the form at which his powerful striker has started the campaign in which we seek our fifth consecutive Premier League.
“I said a few weeks ago that he is better than in previous seasons,” the coach added.
“I remember that at the beginning he told me that he was a bit tired. This season without the Euros he came very relaxed.”
“When you lose, you have to take the positive and move on. He would have loved to go to the Euros with Norway, but that wasn’t the case.”
“He had to relax, now he has to play well this season and try to help Norway qualify for the next tournament.”
