Guardiola likens Haaland to Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi after City win | OneFootball

The Manchester City defeated Napoli 2-0 this Thursday (18), at Etihad Stadium, in the first round of the Champions League. The Italian team was down to ten men at the 21st minute of the game when Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off for fouling Erling Haaland as the last defender.

However, despite the numerical superiority, City struggled and only managed to open the scoring at the beginning of the second half when Haaland himself headed in a cross from Phil Foden (56'). By scoring this Thursday, the Norwegian striker became the fastest player to reach the 50-goal mark in the Champions League, in 49 games. This season, he already has 12 goals in seven games between club and national team.

Pep Guardiola, the Citizens' coach, praised the center forward, drawing a comparison of the scorer with other great football stars.

“I no longer know what to say about Erling. The numbers speak for themselves, and we are very happy to have him on our team. He is of the caliber of Van Nistelrooy, Lewandowski, Cristiano, and Messi,” Guardiola said after the match.

After the goal, everything became easier for the Englishmen, who sealed the victory after Jeremy Doku invaded the area dribbling past several defenders and finished low, passing under the Serbian player Milinkovic-Savic (65').

“They were a very tough team to beat. I think we were quite intelligent and didn't lose many balls. The first half was a bit frustrating,” Foden analyzed after the victory.

By defeating the current Italian champion, the Manchester team turns the page after the irregular start in the English Championship (8th place with two wins and two losses).

The game marked the return to Etihad Stadium of Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, a City idol who joined Napoli this season. He started as a starter and was applauded by the audience, but was replaced by coach Antonio Conte and gave way to Uruguayan full-back Mathítas Olivera for the team's readjustment after Di Lorenzo's expulsion.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.