Pep impressed by Haaland’s goal, praises Stones for having the same sense as Pique
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said after his team beat Sparta Prague 5-0 in the UEFA Champions League on October 23 that they played well. He did not expect Sparta to drop so deep because they usually play an attacking game. Dropping so deep in this game made it difficult. Until we were up 2-0, the game became easier.
Pep continued that the first goal Erling Haaland scored in this game, I saw it when the ball went in. It was incredible. He is like a statue, very tall and flexible, and he has a sense of humour, like the goal he scored against Borussia Dortmund 2-3 years ago. I don’t know which one was harder, because they were both difficult to watch. He was standing on the penalty spot, surrounded by a defensive midfielder, with 5-6 players around him, but he was still very fast. Maybe that’s why Sparta had to defend so deep. The reason they substituted him before he could win the hat-trick was to preserve his body because there were a lot of games. He understands this well.
Pep also praised John Stones, who scored a header in the game, saying that when Haaland is not in a position to play, Stones can play as one of the strikers. Former Barcelona captain Gerard Pique is also one of the players who has good instincts for scoring goals, and so is Stones. He has scored two or three goals since returning to the pitch, which is good news.
The result means that Man City have now gone 26 games unbeaten in the ยูฟ่าเบท Champions League (W18 D8), the best run in the competition’s history, breaking Manchester United’s previous record of 25 games unbeaten (W17 D8) between 2007 and 2009.