“He’s played 2,000 more minutes than Ousmane Dembele” – Pep Guardiola raves about Manchester City’s Erling Haaland
Guardiola describes Haaland’s season as “incredible” despite an indifferent second half of the termMan City boss compares Haaland’s minutes to PSG’s Dembele; Norwegian has played 2,000 moreC...
“He’s played 2,000 more minutes than Ousmane Dembele” – Pep Guardiola raves about Manchester City’s Erling Haaland Guardiola describes Haaland’s season as “incredible” despite an indifferent second half of the term Man City boss compares Haaland’s minutes to PSG’s Dembele; Norwegian has played 2,000 more Catalan insists City must get more players into the box to support Haaland & maximise his threat Pep Guardiola has hailed Erling Haaland’s season as ‘incredible’ after the Norwegian found the net in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday. Haaland has scored 37 goals and provided eight assists in 50 outings in all competitions this term, netted Manchester City ‘s second against Brentford to continue a run of form that has carried the Blues through the most intense period of their campaign. The 25-year-old has started every significant fixture in City’s run-in and has done so despite carrying a considerable burden in terms of minutes played.
Five Things Learned: Manchester City 3-0 Brentford (Premier League) Speaking in a press conference after the win over Brentford , Guardiola placed Haaland’s season in context, acknowledging a difficult spell mid-campaign while making clear his admiration for how the striker has sustained his output regardless. Guardiola: Erling is always Erling Guardiola opened by addressing a period earlier in the season when Haaland visibly struggled for sharpness after returning from international duty with Norway. “It’s incredible!
There was a period where he was so tired when he came back from Norway qualification and struggled, but it’s for the amount of minutes,” Guardiola said. “For example, I saw the minutes of ( Ousmane ) Dembele in PSG compared to Erling – he has 2,000 more! It’s a lot of minutes and he carries on – and the moment Omar ( Marmoush ) was in AFCON, Erling always is Erling, a threat for opponents, set-pieces, sense of goal.
“It’s just we have to bring more players closer to him when we arrive from sides, more players there because we’ll score more and more goals. When he’s alone in the box, it’s so difficult for him to score! ” The comparison with Dembele is a striking one.