Pep Guardiola has paid a glowing tribute to Erling Haaland, describing the Manchester City striker's season as "incredible" despite a challenging second half of the campaign. The Norwegian sharp-shooter found the net in City's 3-0 victory over Brentford on Saturday, adding to his already staggering tally for the term.
With 37 goals and eight assists in 50 appearances across all competitions, Haaland has been a relentless force for the Blues. His strike against Brentford continued a rich vein of form that has carried Manchester City through their most demanding stretch of the season. The 25-year-old has started every major fixture in the run-in, shouldering a heavy workload that has not gone unnoticed by his manager.
In a press conference following the Brentford win, Guardiola put Haaland's season into perspective. He acknowledged a difficult period mid-campaign when the striker struggled for sharpness after returning from international duty with Norway, but made it clear that the output has remained world-class regardless. "It's incredible!" Guardiola exclaimed. "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."
The City boss then drew a striking comparison to underline Haaland's durability. "For example, I saw the minutes of Ousmane Dembele at PSG compared to Erling – he has 2,000 more! It's a lot of minutes and he carries on." The contrast is stark: while Dembele has been a key figure for Paris Saint-Germain, Haaland has played the equivalent of over 22 additional full matches this season. "The moment Omar Marmoush was at AFCON, Erling always is Erling – a threat for opponents, set-pieces, sense of goal," Guardiola added.
However, Guardiola also highlighted an area for improvement: getting more support into the box alongside Haaland. "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!" This tactical insight underscores how City aim to maximize their star striker's threat, ensuring his incredible season continues to yield results as the title race intensifies.