Pep Guardiola hailed Erling Haaland’s goal as “unbelievable” after Manchester City’s top scorer hit five in the FA Cup winners’ fifth round win at Luton.
The 23-year-old took his tally to 27 for the season in all competitions as he combined with the excellent Kevin De Bruyne to produce a scoring masterclass in the 6-2 victory at Kenilworth Road.
It came less than four weeks after his return to the team following almost two months out with a leg injury and took his tally to 79 in 83 games since joining City in the summer of 2022.
After looking noticeably out of sorts in recent games, most notably in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium when he missed a number of chances, it marked a devastating return to form for a player who has scored a record 36 times in the Premier League. league last season.
How many chances did he have against Chelsea? said Guardiola. “A lot. Maybe he had less against Bournemouth (a 1-0 away win), one or two. But that’s his talent. We know he’s always there, always has a chance.
“We always work as a team and give chances. Sometimes you score goals, sometimes you don’t. He scores quite often. But that’s not a big deal because it’s a special talent.
“The number he has at his age in all competitions is honestly unbelievable. We finally know. He’s our top goalscorer, he’s happy he’s been given the trust because guys who are top scorers need goals and he did that (against Luton).
Haaland hit a first-half hat-trick against Luton to ease his side into the quarter-finals, with each of his goals set up by De Bruyne, who himself only returned from a lengthy injury layoff in January.
The pair combined for Haaland’s fourth in the second half after Rob Edwards’ side briefly threatened to counter-attack with two goals from Jordan Clarke.
Bernardo Silva made Norway’s fifth before Mateo Kovacic’s fine finish made it six as the champions produced an irresistible display ahead of Sunday’s Manchester Derby at the Etihad.
“The United game will be completely different,” said Guardiola. “They defend themselves differently.” They have experienced players.
“We’ll have two days off so people don’t see each other. We need to refresh our minds and legs and have two days to prepare our game.”
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