Guardiola: 'Haaland is on the same level as Messi and Ronaldo'

Pep Guardiola drew parallels between Erling Haaland’s quality and that of two iconic players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, after Man City’s win against Bournemouth.

Erling Haaland has continued his impressive goal-scoring form this season by scoring a brace in Man City's win over Bournemouth in the 10th round of the Premier League.

The Norwegian forward leads the Premier League Golden Boot race with 11 goals so far this season, five more than the chasing pack, and he is only two goals away from reaching 100 goals for Man City in the league. In the post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola acknowledged that with his fearsome goal-scoring ability, Haaland has now reached a level of consistency and efficiency comparable to Messi and Ronaldo at their peak.

The Spanish strategist stated: "We played very well, and of course, Erling made the difference. It reminds me of the feeling of having Messi or Cristiano in the team because their influence is immense. You ask if Haaland has reached that level? Just look at his numbers, they are incredible; he is approaching the performance of Messi and Ronaldo.

The only difference is that Messi and Ronaldo have maintained that level for over 15 years. Now, Messi still scores two or three goals per game in MLS, and Ronaldo does the same in Saudi Arabia. But Haaland is at that level, and I must admit that without him, things would be much tougher."

Additionally, Pep highlighted that Haaland's fierce desire to score and his eagerness to learn are two key factors that make him special.

He added: "The way he strikes the ball is amazing, right? Every shot is powerful, the ball skims the ground as if Haaland is saying: ‘I will definitely score.'

I always try to stay open-minded when communicating with players. Some can be indifferent or unreceptive, but Haaland is different. He is very humble, always willing to learn, and lives fully for scoring goals."

After 107 appearances, Haaland has scored 98 goals and is very close to reaching 100 Premier League goals. If he maintains his current form, the 2000-born star will break Alan Shearer’s record as the fastest player to reach this milestone, as the English legend took 124 matches to achieve it.

With his brilliant performance against Bournemouth, Haaland helped Man City climb to second place in the standings with 19 points, narrowing the gap with league leaders Arsenal to six points.

Looking ahead, Haaland will have more opportunities to increase his goal tally this season when he and his teammates host his former club Dortmund in the fourth group stage match of the UEFA Champions League.

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