Guardiola Unleashes Brutal Honesty on Haaland, Reveals Man City's Secret Weapon
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola mirrored a familiar phrase often used by Roy Keane when discussing Erling Haaland's remarkable scoring record. "That's what he's paid to do," he smiled.
The relentless striker netted twice during City's commanding 5–1 victory over Burnley on Saturday, bringing his seasonal total across club and international duty to an impressive 15 goals in nine matches.
Haaland now holds 93 Premier League goals (in merely 103 games) which means he has overtaken Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær as Norway's most successful scorer in the league's history. This double also elevated Haaland into City's top 10 all-time leading goalscorers.
The 25-year-old striker, who joined the Citizens just three seasons ago, has already accumulated 133 goals in all competitions for City. While this remains roughly half of Sergio Agüero's club record (260), considering Haaland's current rate of dismantling Premier League defenses, this difference will undoubtedly continue to narrow.
Guardiola set aside his Keane impression to praise Haaland as "an exceptionally vital player for our squad." "He consistently believes he can find the net and I'm thoroughly satisfied with both his and the team's display," the Spanish manager enthused as City closed the gap on a struggling Liverpool this weekend.
"Following the [Manchester] United match, the squad demonstrated a different mentality in their approach when they weren't performing well against Arsenal in terms of their defensive work and mutual support—that's fundamental to our success," Guardiola expressed with satisfaction.
Man City's 'Unstoppable' Weapon Against Low Blocks
Despite all of Haaland's scoring achievements, it was his colleague Jérémy Doku who prompted Guardiola to openly marvel: "Incredible!"
The skillful winger gave former City defender Kyle Walker a torrid time, contributing to two of his team's opening three goals before setting up Haaland for the fourth. Doku also impressed against Manchester United two weeks prior in what has been an excellent campaign start.
"I encourage the wide players in the attacking third to take on one or two defenders and I sense that Jérémy's choices in the final third have enhanced dramatically, just incredible!" Guardiola raved. "Compared to before, he provided an assist to Erling and spots the gaps."
The City manager emphasized how Doku's ability to beat defenders, instantly creating numerical superiority in the attacking zone, proves vital when confronting teams willing to pack their defensive third.
"He poses an extraordinary danger against sides that sit deep with a low block," Guardiola explained. "Jérémy plays a crucial role. During transitional phases he might face difficulties, but he retained possession and drew opponents toward the penalty area.
"Currently he's reading situations well. When Jérémy makes his move for the second goal, multiple defenders converge on him. They can't allow him space for one-on-one situations because he's impossible to stop. There isn't a winger more dangerous than Jérémy over 5–10 meters—he can cut inside or go wide. Now he recognizes when opponents commit two or three players, identifying which teammate becomes available for a cross or additional pass. His development has been substantial."