Pep Guardiola explains difference between Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi as Man City star set new challenge
Here are your Manchester City evening headlines on Easter Sunday.
Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland's behaviour off the pitch as he brought him into a conversation about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Comments that the Manchester City manager made in a broadcast interview after their 4-1 win over Southampton comparing his striker to the two modern greats prompted a further discussion in his press conference. There, he made clear that Haaland had only done for a season what the duo had managed over two decades, but has seen enough from the 22-year-old to think that he can at least attempt to take their mantle.
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Guardiola said that Haaland has a similar mindset to Messi did but warned that he needs to steer clear of injury if he is to try and match the achievements of the two great forwards. If Messi will always by number one in Guardiola's eyes, the manager did say that he gets more smiles from Haaland.
Read more from Guardiola here.
Alan Shearer believes the 'scary' Erling Haaland will 'storm past' the 50-goal mark for Manchester City this season with a previous prediction of 40 already surpassed.
Haaland scored his 43rd and 44th goals of the campaign in Saturday's comfortable 4-1 win at Southampton to hand City an eighth straight win in all competitions. The Norwegian powered through the Saints' defence to nod home Kevin De Bruyne's cross on 45 minutes, before an incredible overhead kick with 20 minutes left saw three points secured.
The Blues are now five points behind league leaders Arsenal, who play Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, and Haaland looks set to break yet more records in the coming weeks. The 22-year-old is level with