Pep Guardiola has revealed that the guard of honour given to Erling Haaland by his Manchester City team-mates after the Norwegian broke the single-season Premier League scoring record was planned.
Haaland netted the second of City’s three goals in their 3-0 victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium, racing through one-on-one from Jack Grealish’s through ball before effortlessly chipping goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
It was Haaland’s 35th Premier League goal in just 31 appearances, breaking the single-season record jointly held by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer.
Asked whether the post-match guard of honour was pre-planned, Guardiola replied: “Of course. In football when there is a special occasion we have to show how special it is. He [Haaland] and Alan Shearer are incredible, top, top strikers.
“I think he deserves it. All the team deserve it, because without the team he wouldn’t do it. But he’s a special striker. We are very pleased for him. He’s a joy not just to be with but to work with him. This record will be broken in the future, maybe [by] him.”
Some doubted that Haaland would continue his Bundesliga scoring rate when he joined the reigning Premier League champions last summer, but Guardiola was always confident that the club had made the right decision in signing him from Borussia Dortmund.
The Spaniard recalled: “I remember when we lost to Liverpool in the Community Shield that [apparently] ‘he would not adapt in the Premier League.’
“We cannot achieve many things without a good striker. This club had Sergio Aguero, had Gabriel Jesus, now has Erling. Top, top strikers.
“At the end, when you buy a player like Erling, you [hope] he will score goals everywhere, but you don’t know. He’s a guy who can do many things. That’s why he scores a lot of goals. I had a feeling he would score goals because his mentality is in the right position. He is so calm.”
