We are rushing the ball to Haaland: Pep
City boss hails striker's 'incredible sense of goal' but says team are still adapting to him
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SEVILLE - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes the "incredible" Erling Haaland will be even more deadly once the Norwegian striker's teammates adapt fully to him, as his double inspired a 4-0 rout of Sevilla in Tuesday's Champions League opener.
The 22-year-old's latest display of his sublime predatory instincts ensured City started their Group G campaign in emphatic fashion at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. He put his side ahead in the first half and he netted again after the interval as Phil Foden and Ruben Dias also scored.
Guardiola insisted this week that City cannot pin all their Champions League hopes on Haaland.
He once again insisted that his team still have not learnt the best way to play with the youngster because they sometimes try to involve him too quickly.
"We made not a good first half. We wanted to attack too quick. Sometimes we want to rush so quick because Erling is there," he said.
"You have this attraction of him, we want to attack it sometimes. We have to be more patient.
"I didn't say I don't prefer to have him! He has an incredible sense of goal. He scored two in the centre and had chances for two or three more. We have his incredible numbers scoring goals and we want to continue like that."
Haaland has made an impressive start to his City career following his £51 million (S$82.6 million) move from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 12 goals in just eight games in all competitions.
He has netted 25 times in 20 Champions League games, a tally that now includes goals on his debuts in the competition for City, Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg.
He is also the youngest player to score 25 goals in Europe's elite club competition, breaking Kylian Mbappe's record, and the fastest to reach the landmark in just 20 games.
City's stroll in southern Spain was just what the Premier League champions needed after the frustration of Saturday's 1-1 stalemate at Aston Villa.
Pitted in a group also featuring Dortmund and FC Copenhagen, with the former winning 3-0 on Tuesday, City will expect to qualify comfortably if Haaland continues this kind of form.
But only winning the Champions League for the first time will make City's season a complete success after so many years of painful failure in the competition, with Guardiola still waiting for his first European triumph since 2011 with Barcelona.
Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui admitted his team are nowhere near where they would like to be.
"But there are still many matches in La Liga and the Champions League. We have to accept this situation and change things. You have to grit your teeth," he added.
AFP, REUTERS
