Guardiola: Haaland’s goalscoring numbers are ridiculous! | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola called Erling Haaland’s scoring numbers ‘ridiculous’ as the striking ace now marches towards a century of City goals.

Haaland bagged a treble in the 4-1 win at Ipswich, his tenth hat-trick in just over two seasons putting him on 94 goals in 96 starts for the Blues.

The boss said those numbers put him on a par with the elite excellence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in front of goal.

“He did it in Salzburg. He did it in Germany. The numbers are ridiculous,” the manager told media at his post-Ipswich press conference.

“He can compete in terms of goals with Ronaldo and Messi.

“The numbers are incredible for his age. He’s an incredible threat for us and we’re really happy to have him.

“Hopefully he can be here for many years. That would be really good for us.

“You know how important he is. The numbers, scoring goals is unbelievable.”

Guardiola believes an extended summer break has supercharged Haaland’s physical fitness for the 2024/25 campaign.

After missing out on Euro 2024 following Norway’s failure to make it to Germany, the striker has returned to domestic duty with a bang, hitting four goals in two games to start the Premier League season.

The boss has been pleased with the energised way his powerful predator has begun the campaign as City eye five Premier League titles in succession.

WATCH: Guardiola: Ipswich have something special

“I said a few weeks ago he feels better than previous seasons,” the boss added.

“He struggled to handle it, maybe not too much holidays. I remember at the beginning he said I'm tired, I'm a little drained.

“This season with no Euros and relaxed, he arrived really well.

“When there is something wrong, always there is something coming that is positive. “When you have a defeat, take the positive and move forward.

“He would have loved to have gone to Euros with Norway. It was not the case.

“Okay, relax, play good this season and try to help Norway qualify for the next tournament.”