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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
David McDonnell

Man City star Erling Haaland determined to land double blow to Man Utd in FA Cup final

Erling Haaland says it would be a “dream” to win the Treble with Manchester City in his first season.

City have the chance to tick off the second leg of a potential Treble by beating local rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday. If they win, Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions can complete the Treble with victory over Inter Milan in next Saturday's Champions League final in Istanbul.

Haaland, who has shattered scoring records with his 52-goal haul this season, said City are desperate to do the Treble and match United's historic feat from 1999. "It would be unreal to make this history," said Haaland, who acknowledged City bought him to finally win the Champions League.

"This is why they bought me of course, to get this, we don't have to hide that. It would mean everything. I will do everything I possibly can to try to make it happen. It's my biggest dream and hopefully dreams do come true.

"But as well it's not easy – it's two finals against two good teams that will do everything they can to try to destroy that. They will be motivated, they will be ready and we have to play at our best, because if we play at our best we have a really good chance of achieving exactly that."

City overtook Arsenal this season to win a third straight Premier League title and Haaland admitted it was a relief to finally pip the Gunners. "We've been chasing the whole season, so when we won the Premier League it was a big relief," said Haaland, who scored 36 league goals. "Now we've got two finals left and now the only thing we can focus on is these two finals before the vacation."

Erling Haaland wants to add the FA Cup and Champions League to his collection (AFP via Getty Images)

HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Manchester City win the Treble and match Manchester United's achievement from 1998/99? Comment below.

Haaland admitted his life has changed since joining City, saying it is now impossible for him to go out in public without being recognised and attracting attention. "My life has changed, of course,” Haaland told the BBC. “I can't live normally any more. That's how my life is, I can't complain.

"I try to enjoy every single moment of it and that's how it is. I'm 196cm tall and have got long blonde hair, so wherever I go, people are going to see me. So that's how my life is. What can I do?

"There's nothing I can do, that's my life. I just have to try to enjoy it as much as I can. Try to relax when I'm home with good people around me, that's really important. Just try to enjoy my life."

Erling Haaland won the Premier League Golden Boot (Stephanie Meek/Getty Images)

Haaland believes he has improved this season under Guardiola but warned he can take his game to another level next season. “I've been developing in a really positive way and that's really important for me because I'm still really young," he said.

"I'm 22, I've got a long career ahead of me and I still have to develop. That's also something I was thinking of over one year ago when I was thinking about my next move."

Haaland knows United will be extra-motivated to beat City, with their opponents wanting to preserve their unique place in history.

"It will not be an easy game," said Haaland. "We have to play our game. We have to not think too much, we have to focus on ourselves and we have to play the game we should play. In the end we'll see. It's a 90 minute football game and the ones who do it best in these games can win."

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