Manchester City

Manchester City

Premier League • England

Guardiola makes scary Erling Haaland admission after Man City striker brings up record in win over Leeds Utd

Pep Guardiola speaking to Jack Grealish

Pep Guardiola thinks Erling Haaland could already be on a higher goalscoring tally for Manchester City despite reaching a certain landmark in record time.

It was a winning return to Premier League action for the reigning champions as they defeated Leeds 3-1 at Elland Road. Rodri put them ahead in stoppage time of the first half before a brace from Haaland in the city of his birth.

Haaland has now reached the tally of 20 Premier League goals already, from just 14 appearances in the competition – which represents a record achievement.

Both of his efforts, incidentally, were set up by Jack Grealish.

In terms of the Norway international, despite his frightening scoring rate so far, Guardiola thinks there could be even more to come.

The manager told BBC Sport: “He scored a lot of goals but he could have scored more. He help us a lot.”

Thanks to their win, Man City remain on the heels of Arsenal in the Premier League standings, five points behind the current leaders.

For Guardiola, it was an impressive reaction after the World Cup break.

The City boss said: “We played really well against this team in this stadium. We made a great performance in the second half when they were a bit more open.

“After the World Cup, nobody knows how we were going to react and the way Leeds were playing lately. Today with the ball we were brilliant.

“The relationship between Rico Lewis and Rodri was brilliant in the middle of the pitch.”

Guardiola demands more ambition from Grealish

Lewis, just 18 years old, was making his first start in the Premier League for City. He could be pleased with his performance, even if some more expensive stars stole the headlines.

Indeed, £100million man Grealish got his first assists of the season. But his manager is eager for him to contribute efficiently and consistently.

Guardiola said: “Grealish made two assists, he allowed us to give an extra pass when he had it. With Riyad [Mahrez] and Jack the tempo was better.

“But he has to be more ambitious, he has to score more goals and be competitive because he has the quality to do it.”

Next up for Man City will be a home match against Everton on New Year’s Eve.

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