Erling Haaland is enjoying the pressure of a Premier League title battle and insists his Manchester City side remain focused on themselves.
The Norwegian scored his 28th league goal of the season on Saturday, confidently tucking away a penalty as City scrapped to a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace. Pep Guardiola's side were some way short of their best at Selhurst Park, but know the importance of picking up three points regardless.
Those points closed the gap on league leaders Arsenal to just two points, although the Gunners can reassert a five-point gap with victory at Fulham on Sunday. But with 11 games still to play - including welcoming Arsenal to the Etihad - Haaland remains focused on his own side's results.
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“With this gap, we just have to focus on ourselves,” he told the club’s official website. “We have them [Arsenal] at home and a lot of games left to play still. Nothing is decided yet. I enjoy it (title race), this is England, this is what I’ve been watching my entire life. I enjoy every single second of it. It’s good to be in the middle of it.”
Despite scoring the eventual winner on Saturday evening, Haaland struggled to find his feet at Selhurst Park after missing a glorious early chance from close range. But the 22-year-old kept chipping away, eventually getting the chance to redeem himself from the spot with less than 15 minutes to go.
“Of course I don’t like to miss chances," he admitted. "I had one in the first half that I should have scored, there was a small thing in the grass that made the ball bounce higher. Everyone knows how important this win is for us. We have to keep going. I say this every time but it’s the truth.
“I was not concerned [at 0-0]. I just do as I do every game, focus on my game. It’s not that bad, we have to keep going. As I said it’s not easy, I’m really proud. We have to play different ways. Other teams adapt to how City play, of course because in the last five years we have four Premier League (titles). That’s normal. What can I do, we just have to try to do our best and perform.”
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