Guardiola celebrates Haaland’s historic performance: “It’s a gift for all of us”

This Tuesday, after the massacre of the manchester city on RB Leipzig, which secured the English team in the quarterfinals of the Champions LeaguePep Guardiola praised the historic performance of Erling Haaland, who scored five of City’s seven goals in the match.

“He is a gift for all of us. He is a great competitor and he scored five goals, which is not easy,” said the Spaniard at a press conference.

With the goals scored on Tuesday, Haaland reached his fifth hat trick for City and already has 39 goals in 36 appearances this season. In addition, the 22-year-old Norwegian broke the record for the youngest player – and with the fewest games – to score 30 goals in the Champions League.

Finally, City’s number 9 became the third player to score five times in a single European competition match, matching Messi and Luiz Adriano. Haaland, however, was pulled out of the match in the 18th minute of the second half and did not have the opportunity to score his sixth goal, to isolate himself as the highest scorer in the history of the Champions League in a single game. Guardiola explained the reason for replacing the 22-year-old.

“I replaced him because normally when the game is resolved, I want to use as many players as possible”, said Guardiola who, in a humorous tone, also said he had removed the Norwegian star to “spare him” from a “boring life”.

“If he reaches that mark at 22 years old, his life will be boring! Now he has a goal to do that in the future, so I made the replacement.”, he joked.

A night to remember! 🏅 pic.twitter.com/X8ETBdGERz

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 15, 2023

The 52-year-old coach also commented on the performance, in addition to the goals, of Haaland, who had been in a bad phase and even had his compatibility with the English team’s game scheme questioned.

“Today he scored five goals and I think he had 30 to 35 touches on the ball. That’s what we’re looking for. I believe that when you’re more involved in the game offensively and defensively, you become smarter and more accurate when the opportunity arises. score a goal. You’re in the game.”, he explained.

Now, Manchester City turns its efforts to the FA Cup. On Saturday, at 2:45 pm (Brasília time), Guardiola’s men face Burnley, in a match valid for the quarterfinals of the competition, which takes place at the Etihad Stadium.