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

"We've gone through two incredible decades with Ronaldo and Messi, but now, Haaland is at that level," Guardiola said after Man City's 4-1 win over Southampton in the 30th round of the Premier League. "In terms of scoring, Haaland is quite similar to Ronaldo, but Messi is more comprehensive. Messi can play many positions, while Haaland and Ronaldo are like scoring machines."

The Spanish coach praised Haaland for having an incredible mindset and being very professional. According to Guardiola, Haaland was only disappointed for a few minutes after missing an opportunity and then immediately regained focus and looked forward to the next situation. "Haaland is under the same pressure as Messi and Ronaldo. When you don't score in two or three games, people wonder what happened," added Guardiola.

According to the Man City coach, the successes and persistence of Messi and Ronaldo will be the motivation for Haaland to continue to strive for self-improvement. Guardiola said: "Haaland knows Messi and Ronaldo dominated for two decades, not just a year or two, but two decades, scoring goals, breaking records, winning trophies and doing everything. Messi and Ronaldo make football better. Haaland is only 22 years old, has come to the toughest tournament in the world and has a remarkable track record."

Guest at St. Mary's, Man City had many difficulties and only opened the scoring in the 45th minute. From Kevin de Bruyne's cross on the left, Haaland ran to pick a position and headed near the wall to knock out goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. Haaland's second goal was even more impressive, coming from Man City's quick counter-attack. In the 68th minute, from Jack Grealish's slight cross, the Norwegian striker leaned the ball with his left foot to the far corner.

Twice to tear the net against Southampton, Haaland reached the 30-goal mark in the Premier League this season. He is the third striker to do this in his first season in the Premier League, after Andrew Cole (34 goals in 1993-1994) and Kevin Phillips (30 goals in 1999-2000).

The 22-year-old striker is expected to break this record, and also the Premier League record of 34 goals held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. But this record was set when the tournament had a total of 42 matches, compared with 38 as it is now. The record for the most goals scored in a season with 38 matches belongs to Mohamed Salah - the Egyptian star scored 32 goals in the 2017-2018 season.

According to Guardiola, Haaland's opening goal was a turning point because Man City did not create many opportunities in the first half and improved the game in the second half. The Spanish coach used the word "wonderful" when talking about Haaland's second goal. "It's not easy to catch the ball in the air and shoot like that," he said. "But if the score is 0-0 after the first half, it will be completely different. In the second half, Man City played much better."

In the last four matches in all competitions, Haaland also scored 11 goals, averaging nearly three goals per game. In total since the beginning of the season, he has scored 44 goals in just 37 games.

Guardiola admired Haaland's scoring ability as "unbelievable", but stressed that his students had much to do to achieve the same status as Ronaldo and Messi. The Spanish coach identified the Norwegian striker's physique as a potential barrier to keeping fit for a long time. He explained: "Ronaldo and Messi are not injured. Haaland is tall, big, needs a lot of care, not just one but many people."

On April 11, Haaland and Man City will host Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals and then meet Leicester in the 31st round of the Premier League on April 15.