Josep Guardiola says Manchester City have the “energy” to challenge for the Premier League title at “Messi level” with Erling Haaland.
Man City defeated Bournemouth 3-1 on Sunday, their fourth win in five league games, and moved into second place, six points behind leaders Arsenal.
Guardiola’s side finished 13 points behind champions Liverpool last season, but he feels differently about his side’s chances this time around.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch for free: Premier League match highlights between Manchester City and Bournemouth.
Asked about Man City’s title credentials, he said: “I hope Arsenal concede at some point.” “We have an energy that we didn’t have. Since the Club World Cup, we felt we were in this moment.
“There are still 10 games left, 28 games left and a lot can happen. It’s important to stay close and feel like the team is getting better and better.”
Haaland has already taken his season tally to 13 with two goals against Bournemouth, but there are concerns that Man City’s next highest scorer has only scored one goal.
But Guardiola believes Haaland can match the best players in the world. “The last time we played without him, against Swansea, we scored three goals,” he said.
“It’s like when you play with Messi and Ronaldo. Their influence is huge. Of course we need goals from Phil (Foden) Tigiani (Lijnders) and other players who had chances.”
“Do you look at that guy’s (Haaland) numbers? Of course he’s at that level.
“The difference is that Messi and Ronaldo have been doing it for 15 years and this is the level. The first goal, the way he shot the ball, it was like, ‘I’m going to score.’
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Erling Haaland joked that fantasy football managers would not be happy about him coming on as a substitute for his hat-trick, but said he had no problem with Guardiola’s decision.
“He has that hungry spirit, which is great. I’ve said many times how incredibly coachable and manageable he is.
“I’m hard on him sometimes, but he’s open-minded. He lives for goals and sometimes the pressure can’t be maintained for 90 minutes, but that’s normal.”
“It will be tough to be honest without him, but we are lucky to have Omar (Marmouche) back and we have fit players, which is good.”
Is City’s reliance on Erling Haaland a problem?
Ron Walker of Sky Sports:
Of the 20 goals Man City have scored this season, 13 have come from Erling Haaland’s boots or head.
Subtracting Maxime Esteve’s two own goals against Burnley in September, Haaland’s team-mates have contributed just five goals.
One of them was Nico O’Reilly’s composed finish against Bournemouth on Sunday. The first goal in these eight matches was not scored by the Norwegian talisman.
does that matter? Man City are second in the league in scoring and have only lost once since August. Haaland himself has said that this is the shape of his life, and by the first weekend in November he had scored 26 goals for club and country, an astonishing record by anyone’s standards. By these metrics, good luck, Erling.
But as former City goalkeeper Shay Given pointed out on Super Sunday, this only works as long as Haaland stays fit.
Omar Marmouche is a very capable secondary player and Rayan Cherki had his best performance to date against Bournemouth and showed signs of contributing with a goal and an assist.
But no one in this City team would support their star forward’s display of ruthless calm. Without him, the win against Bournemouth would have been very different.
This is the bridge Pep Guardiola will have to cross if Haaland is out. Say anything bad about Rio Ferdinand, just enjoy him for now.
Christensen: Haaland is a phenomenon.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
A panel discussion on Super Sunday will discuss Manchester City’s reliance on the incredible goal-scoring striker Erling Haaland.
Sky Sports’ Jizzy Christensen talks about Erling Haaland on Super Sunday.
“He has an unstoppable performance. He is a phenomenon.
“His physicality, his ability to drop deep and protect the ball and run in behind – he’s the perfect number nine.
“People say he doesn’t do much off the ball and just scores goals, but all he really does is distract players with his presence on the pitch and then he comes back to life.
“Today he showed once again why he is one of the best players in the world.”
Given: Haaland has an ambition to be the best in the world.
Shay Given talks about Erling Haaland on Super Sunday:
“He has ambitions to be the best striker in the history of the Premier League, the best Norwegian player ever, the best player in the world. That’s the history he wants to make.
“If you look at his work off the pitch, he is the ultimate professional. He is probably in the locker room now preparing for the next game.”
