In any case, Haaland is more than ready for the first part of the showdown against Bayern, who also celebrated a successful dress rehearsal with a 1-0 win in Freiburg. The 22-year-old came back from his groin injury with spectacular goals and got his coach enthusiastic. “We’ve had two incredible decades with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Erling is at this level now,” said Guardiola after the clear victory in Southampton.
The former Bayern coach was “overwhelmed” by his goalscorer. The return of the former Salzburg bomber gives the English champion, who is already in good form, even more impetus ahead of the duel with the German record champions on Tuesday (9 p.m.) in Manchester. “We need him,” said Guardiola about the Norwegian, who played 68 minutes in Southampton. “It was precisely for games like this that the bosses brought him in. The first half wasn’t our best level, but he changed the game with his goal.”
Guardiola therefore compared Haaland to the Portuguese Ronaldo, who also scored goal after goal for his clubs. “They are both machines,” explained the 52-year-old. However, Ronaldo and Messi have won numerous titles, including the Champions League several times. “They have dominated for two decades, not just one year,” said Guardiola. “But Erling is only 22 and is scoring in the toughest league in the world. What he does is remarkable.”
Round goal anniversary with a highlight
The 22-year-old Haaland now has 30 Premier League goals this season after his brace on Saturday. His anniversary goal was also one for the various highlight programs. The side kick to make it 3-0, which is well worth seeing, also amazed team-mate Kevin de Bruyne, who made his 100th assist in the English top flight in Southampton. “You won’t see a goal like that from me,” emphasized the Belgian. “If I had done it I would be in a hospital in Southampton right now.”
Even if Haaland is likely to be seeded in his current form in the first leg of the quarter-finals on Tuesday, it is still unclear how City will play against Bayern. Due to the change of coach from Julian Nagelsmann to Thomas Tuchel at the Germans, Guardiola still has to study his former employer intensively until the day of the game. “I haven’t seen a game under him,” said the 52-year-old Spaniard. “Now I have to figure out what we’re going to do.”
Bavaria with “room for improvement”
Watching the video of Bayern’s 1-0 win at SC Freiburg, thanks to a long-range shot by defender Matthijs de Ligt, Guardiola will see that Bayern also had the necessary amount of luck on their side that day. Before the change of sides, Ritsu Doan had only hit the bar for Freiburg, who were waiting for a counterattack. After de Ligt’s goal, which put the ball from long-range into the top corner of the Freiburg goal early in the second half, Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer thwarted Roland Sallai’s equalizer with a save.
In a duel with the English defending champion, Fortuna could not be enough. “We’ll have to step up our game again against Manchester City,” wrote Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn on Twitter. The players of the German record champion saw it similarly. “I think we still have a lot of room for improvement,” said gold goalscorer de Ligt. Goalkeeper Sommer took the same line: “We lacked the efficiency to clear the game earlier,” said the Swiss.
In any case, coach Tuchel was confident before the trip to Manchester’s Etihad Stadium. “Of course that’s the highest level that awaits us there,” said the 49-year-old before his first international test as Bayern coach. But he and his players “will bravely go there. Anything can happen if we’re willing to stretch to the ceiling. And I believe we are.”