Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has showered praise on his forward Erling Haaland following the Norwegian's three-goal performance, which propelled City to a 3-1 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday. The ex-Borussia Dortmund striker struck first within the opening 10 minutes, then doubled his tally before the break, following West Ham's equalizer. Haaland later secured his second consecutive Premier League hat-trick with a goal seven minutes from the end, keeping City's flawless season intact.
After netting three goals in the 4-1 home comeback victory over newly promoted Ipswich Town last week, Haaland became the first Premier League player in 30 years (since Paul Jewel of Bradford City in the 1994-95 season) to score two hat-tricks within the first three matches of a season.
Guardiola described Haaland as an unstoppable force that cannot be contained (via Fabrizio Romano).
''Erling Haaland, he’s just unstoppable. There is no central defender who can stop him, not even with a gun. It's impossible; he's so powerful!”, the ex Barcelona coach said.
With his eighth Premier League hat-trick, Haaland has climbed to fourth place on the list of most hat-tricks in the competition, led by former City star Sergio Aguero, who holds the record with 12.
With his eighth Premier League hat-trick, Haaland has moved up to fourth on the all-time hat-trick list in the competition. The list is led by former City star Sergio Aguero, who has 12 hat-tricks.
Since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, Erling Haaland has continuously improved. His hat-trick against West Ham brings his total for City to 97 goals and 14 assists in 102 appearances across all competitions. This includes 70 goals in 69 Premier League matches, with City securing the title in both of the last two seasons, and Haaland claiming the Golden Boot each time.