Erling Haaland is now in the middle of his third season at Manchester City.
Signed from Borussia Dortmund in the 2022 summer transfer window for a fee of £51m, the striker has appeared in 114 matches prior to City’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.
Across those games, Haaland has scored 105 goals and won five major trophies along the way.
Earlier this week, the club announced that Pep Guardiola had signed a two-year contract extension.
In Friday’s press conference ahead of City’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola revealed it took him two hours to agree the extension, which will now take his tenure at the club to 11 years.
Ahead of the match against Ange Postecoglou’s side, Haaland shared some behind-the-scenes details on what it has been like to work with Guardiola and what the City manager tells him about how he can improve his game.
Erling Haaland shares insight on Pep Guardiola advice
When asked in a recent interview shared on the official Man City website about what advice Guardiola gives him, Haaland gave this honest response about the Catalan.
He said: “The small details – to be more focused on the pitch and to be even more ready. Pep really cares about the team, and I’ve been learning from him how to be a better team player and perform better as a team.
“He demands a lot, he’s intense but I like it. He’s really direct and honest – he tells you the truth. He wants to develop me more and more and I like his vibes. He’s a good person and I’m happy working with him.”
Guardiola said patience is the key for Haaland
After seeing the Norwegian score a brace in City’s 5-0 win over Sparta Prague last month, Guardiola explained his advice for Haaland after the game and what the key to success is for him specifically.
He said: “I know it’s not easy for him because they defend in the box, no space, three central defenders with him, two holding midfielders close to him, even the wingers close to the holding midfielders. Literally, there’s no space, you know that?”
“Every cross, they are hugging and pushing him so it’s not easy. But I spoke many times with him, ‘Be patient, be patient, be positive because the ball is coming’, the ball arrived.”
| Erling Haaland – Manchester City | Appearances | Goals | Trophies Won |
| Premier League | 77* | 75 | 2 |
| Champions League | 25 | 21 | 1 |
| FA Cup | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| Carabao Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Even though Haaland has been a phenomenon for City in terms of his goalscoring numbers, it’s good to know that he and Guardiola know that there is always room for improvement and things the 24-year-old can strive to work on to make him an even better player.
Moving forward, if the Norwegian can continue finding the back of the net on a regular basis while making the necessary improvements to his overall game, he’ll give City a great chance of adding more trophies to their cabinet this season.
