Erling Haaland was 'born' with goalscoring instinct says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola
- Planet Sport writer
- 7 September 2022
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland was born to score goals after the Norwegian bagged another couple in Manchester City’s winning Champions League start.
Haaland took his City tally to 12 in just eight appearances with a double that helped the Premier League winners to a 4-0 victory over Sevilla in their Group G opener in Spain on Tuesday.
City manager Guardiola said: "There is a shot from outside the area (and) a rebound, he is there. There is a cross, he is there.
"He is in the right place in the right moment, not a second before nor a second after. It is a great virtue.
"It is a born instinct he has carried from the cradle and he has shown in Austria, in Germany and now with us. It is a unique reality of this player. It is a natural instinct to score goals."
Manuel Akanji's deadline-day move to City reunited him with his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Haaland and the Swiss is not surprised how quickly he has adapted to his new surroundings.
Akanji said: "A lot of people asked whether he can score goals at this level when he came to Dortmund, and then they said that he needs to do this in the Premier League as well - and he keeps on doing it.
"I think it is hard to doubt him anymore. He is so young and he is scoring so many goals.
"If he keeps on improving, the sky is the limit. When he gets the ball in the box, he scores."