Pep Guardiola reveals ‘astonishing’ Erling Haaland’s most important quality

Pep Guardiola watched Erling Haaland score his first Manchester City hat-trick against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, and has hailed how humble the star striker is, helping him settle in so quickly at the club.

The 22-year-old helped the Premier League champions recover from two goals behind to beat Palace 4-2 at the Etihad, with his three goals helping to clip the Eagles’ wings.

He has already taken his tally to six goals in just four Premier League games, and it seems that his goal-scoring rate in the Premier League will be just as good as it was in Germany and Austria.

His manager is stunned by how prolific the Norwegian is, but he is equally impressed with the giant forward off the pitch and how he acts with other people at the club.

‘He has done what he has done all his life, in Salzburg and everywhere he has been he has scored goals,’ said Guardiola.

‘Against these type of teams, we struggle because they defend so deep, but he has an incredible sense of goal. The three (he scored), especially the last one, but the first one as well, were all good goals.

‘The numbers for this guy are beyond. The most important thing is that he has settled perfectly, and he is an incredibly humble guy.

‘He is a lovely person. He chats more with the guys from the Academy and that means a lot.

‘Hopefully, he can be happy the time we are together.’

Guardiola added: ‘As a striker he is incredible. He cannot touch the ball, but he is always involved.

‘He does not shoot the ball, he places it in the net. I would say the number of goals he has scored is astonishing.’

The win, and Arsenal’s victory over Fulham, leaves City second in the table, with their next match at home against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

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