Erling Haaland 'a guy with incredible talent', says Man City boss Pep Guardiola
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland's brace in the 2-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday has already silenced the doubters who questioned his ability to fit City's style of play.
Haaland had faced some criticism for his underwhelming performance in the Community Shield defeat by Liverpool last weekend, where he touched the ball only six times. But the £51 million recruit from Borussia Dortmund announced his arrival in the Premier League in style with a goal in each half, a penalty followed by a neat finish, to open his City account in the win at the London Stadium.Read More : Manchester United's friendly to go ahead despite heavy rain in Perth “One week ago he could not adapt to the Premier League. Now he’s alongside Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo,” smiled City boss Guardiola. “He’s a guy with incredible talent, a scorer of goals. I’ve known him for a month. I know how he handled criticism this week and he was calm, he trained really well. We will see when he is complimented how he reacts.”
The Norway international, 22, won the penalty that led to City's opener, drawing a fail from Alphonse Areola minutes after the Frenchman came on as a substitute for the injured Lukasz Fabianski.
Haaland was adamant he would take the spot kick and expertly sent Areola the wrong way with a low spot-kick which clipped a post on its way in. “The way he took the ball to take the penalty, I said, ‘oh, I like it’,” added Guardiola.
“I think if someone were to take this ball, he would have punched his teammates in the face. I’m pretty sure of that, and that is a good sign. “You’ve got to be self-confident, ambitious and have a ruthless mentality. And of course, he scored it.”
West Ham v Man City ratings
Haaland put the game to bed with 25 minutes remaining when he raced on to Kevin de Bruyne’s through-ball and slotted it past Areola.
The 22-year-old probably fancied another debut hat-trick, having managed that feat twice before, but Guardiola took him off with 15 minutes remaining, replaced by another new arrival, Julian Alvarez. “I was fortunate as a manager to be with Lionel Messi and if he scored two, he wanted three, if he scored three he wanted four and if he got four he wanted five,” said Guardiola.
“The top goalscorers, the strikers, they are never satisfied. They are always hungry, starving, they always want more and more.“But at the same time, I have to involve the new players and make sure everyone gets the minutes.”
Haaland had faced some criticism for his underwhelming performance in the Community Shield defeat by Liverpool last weekend, where he touched the ball only six times. But the £51 million recruit from Borussia Dortmund announced his arrival in the Premier League in style with a goal in each half, a penalty followed by a neat finish, to open his City account in the win at the London Stadium.
The Norway international, 22, won the penalty that led to City's opener, drawing a fail from Alphonse Areola minutes after the Frenchman came on as a substitute for the injured Lukasz Fabianski.
Haaland was adamant he would take the spot kick and expertly sent Areola the wrong way with a low spot-kick which clipped a post on its way in. “The way he took the ball to take the penalty, I said, ‘oh, I like it’,” added Guardiola.
“I think if someone were to take this ball, he would have punched his teammates in the face. I’m pretty sure of that, and that is a good sign. “You’ve got to be self-confident, ambitious and have a ruthless mentality. And of course, he scored it.”
West Ham v Man City ratings
Haaland put the game to bed with 25 minutes remaining when he raced on to Kevin de Bruyne’s through-ball and slotted it past Areola.
The 22-year-old probably fancied another debut hat-trick, having managed that feat twice before, but Guardiola took him off with 15 minutes remaining, replaced by another new arrival, Julian Alvarez. “I was fortunate as a manager to be with Lionel Messi and if he scored two, he wanted three, if he scored three he wanted four and if he got four he wanted five,” said Guardiola.
“The top goalscorers, the strikers, they are never satisfied. They are always hungry, starving, they always want more and more.“But at the same time, I have to involve the new players and make sure everyone gets the minutes.”
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
