The superlatives are now missing for Erling Haaland. “Should I be honest? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” said England international Jack Grealish about his Manchester City team-mate.
Despite being substituted at half-time, the Norwegian scored his top-flight goals 27 and 28 in the 5-0 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen and only needed 22 games to do so. “The first goal and the second goal just made me laugh. He’s always there. I hope he can continue like this and lead us to trophies,” said Grealish.
The former Dortmund striker has always scored at least one goal in the past nine competitive games. He scored 19 goals in twelve competitive games for Pep Guardiola’s team. That’s not the only reason Copenhagen keeper Kamil Grabara was stunned. The Pole was defeated by the 22-year-old attacker in the 7th and 33rd minutes. “Their goalkeeper said to me, ‘He’s not human,'” said attacking player Grealish.
Guardiola on Haaland: “He is loved by everyone”
A Copenhagen professional of all people prevented a hat-trick like in the 6-3 derby win against Manchester United on Sunday: David Khocholava steered the ball into his own net before Haaland was ready to score (39th). “He’s incredible,” coach Guardiola marveled at his goal machine. “He is loved by everyone.”
At the break, Guardiola took his exceptional striker off the pitch – to protect himself. “If the game had been close, Erling would have continued playing,” explained the ex-Bayern coach. “It was good that he was given a break. On Saturday we have a opponent in Southampton FC who we couldn’t beat last year.”
In the Premier League he has scored 14 goals in eight games and is the undisputed top scorer. He also leads the premier class with five goals. “It’s crazy to see how he scores the second goal,” enthused even Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup, explaining: “Today we played against one of the very best strikers in the world.”
