Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lavished praise upon one of his players following yet another outstanding display in a resounding 5-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
The Cityzens reduced the number of points needed to win the league to just 9 points and a victory in all the remaining 3 matches will be enough to become the Premier League champions again.
Undoubtedly, Erling Haaland stood out as the best player for City in the match against Wolves, drawing high praise from Pep Guardiola in his subsequent press conference. The Manchester City manager expressed that Haaland has successfully recovered his top form following a period of injury.
The forward was sidelined for a duration of two months at the beginning of this year and has additionally been absent from a significant number of matches in recent weeks as a result of fitness concerns. And according to Pep, Haaland always struggles for fitness unlike other City players.
“Today he did it and against Nottingham Forest as well. He was injured [earlier in the year], important one, he’s so tall,” said Guardiola after the match. “To regain his best form you need time. It’s not like Jeremy [Doku] for example or Phil [Foden] or Julian [Alvarez], that in nothing can be ready.”
The Spanish manager commended Haaland’s second and the last goal of the match, stating that they were unbelievable. He said: “I’m happy for his performance and for his exceptional goals, in the penalty as well because sometimes they are not easy. But the second and the fourth were unbelievable. I’m really pleased for him.”
The Manchester City forward is well-positioned to secure another Golden Boot following his four-goal performance on Saturday. He currently boasts 25 goals, putting him four goals ahead of former Man City player, Cole Palmer, and Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, who are tied for second place.
Although Erling Haaland has not been able to match his goal-scoring achievements from the previous season, he has managed to net an impressive total of 36 goals and deliver an additional 6 assists in 39 matches for the Premier League champions in all competitions this season.