Erling Braut Haaland had an absolutely sparkling Premier League debut for Manchester City on Sunday evening. Jærbuen scored both goals in the 2–0 victory against West Ham in London. Afterwards, he had a real language barrier in the official victory interview, before he was praised around the world for his performance. On the ball island, the profiles and experts almost fought to come up with the warmest comments about the 22-year-old Norwegian forward: – Haaland is unstoppable. A real striker who is going to score huge amounts of goals. He really is a colossal talent, writes BBC expert and former top striker Gary Lineker on Twitter. Another former super striker, Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s top scorer with 260 nets, simply tweeted the following after the game yesterday: “258 goals to go”. BIG SCORERS: Alan Shearer. Photo: ODD ANDERSEN / AFP Good luck A third who did his business well in the 90s, Roy Keane, was also impressed: – Good quality, good runs and movements. He’s going to get chances. The fact that he takes penalties means that there could be 30 or 40 goals for him this season if he stays injury free. He has so much quality around him. Good luck, defenders, says the former Manchester United captain. PANGSTART: Haaland scored two and earned a penalty in his debut in the Premier League for Manchester City. Tap for highlights. news’s football writer Thore Haugstad was also impressed by what he saw yesterday: – It’s crazy to deliver so well, so immediately, after all the expectation and all the pressure that has built up in the last week. He was criticized after the game against Liverpool in the Community Shield. He knows he will hear it if he doesn’t score immediately. And then he delivers. It is raw, says Haugstad. – Everyone laughed at him in the Community Shield match against Liverpool, Guardiola also just mentioned yesterday. While the Haaland tribute went on in all channels, the powerful Spaniard felt the need to ask people to calm down. DUO: Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo after the latter won the Ballon d’Or in 2014. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP He highlighted the criticism Haaland received after being almost ridiculed after several misses against Liverpool as an example when Sky Sports’ reporter Geoff Shreeves asked the following question in an interview shown on Viaplay: – After the way he scored his second goal today there are already comparisons with Ronaldo and Thierry Henry in terms of the way he positioned his body. Do you think he has the potential to end up in that company since he has such great talent? Guardiola looked clearly dejected as he replied: – Yes, he has a talent, but listen: A week ago, when he missed some chances against Liverpool, he was a failure. Everyone laughed at him. Now he will do like Henry and Ronaldo. Give him time. This is his first Premier League match, said Guardiola, before continuing: – He is 21-22 years old and has a long career ahead of him. Hopefully he will play for a long time at Manchester City and when he retires we can analyze what he has done. Be calm. The important thing is that we know what he can do and what his quality is. SHARP EYE: Guardiola is one of the industry’s best. Photo: PETER CZIBORRA / Reuters Never doubted Guardiola was otherwise very happy with his fresh Norwegian pupil yesterday: – It was good for him to get his first two goals. We have never doubted a guy who has scored goals since he was born, he says to Sky Sports. – What do you give him? – What he gives us are his qualities. We will not change much, but we will adapt. What we do know is that now we have a threat there. He is incredibly good on the deep runs and he is a brilliant finisher. I’d say he adapts perfectly to how we play and he’s going to adapt more and more. We will give him the chance to score goals. Guardiola also liked something else from Haaland yesterday – and he admitted at the same time that it was not agreed in advance that City’s new number nine should take the team’s penalties. When Haaland scored a penalty in the first half, it was clear in his body language that it was he himself who had to take responsibility. – When I saw the way he took the ball to take the penalty, I said “oh, I like it!” He went straight to the ball. If a teammate had taken the ball from him, he would have punched them in the face. I’m pretty sure of that. And that’s a good sign. You must have self-confidence, be ambitious and have a good mentality. It showed him, and I liked that, says Guardiola. In the next round, next Saturday at 16, Haaland can make his home debut for City when they host newly promoted Bournemouth.
ttn-69
Pep Guardiola asks people to calm down after the tribute to Erling Braut Haaland – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
