Erling Haaland is not the only Manchester City ace Pep Guardiola has compared to Lionel Messi, with Bernardo Silva also receiving high praise – though the manager is now having to contend with a new injury in midfield.
Man City made it two wins from three in the Champions League by beating Villarreal 2-0 away from home on Tuesday night. Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute, finishing from close range on his right foot after being set up by Rico Lewis.
Haaland has now scored in 12 consecutive games in all competitions.
Silva doubled City’s lead in the 40th minute when he met a Savinho cross and sent a bullet header past Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior.
Villarreal had no answer, and a second Champions League defeat of the season left them down in 29th place. City, in contrast, sit in fifth and have put themselves in a good position to advance.
After City’s third straight win across all competitions, Guardiola heaped praise on club captain Silva, even comparing him to Argentine legend Messi.
“I’m pleased Erling scored again and pleased Bernardo scored as well, with his head,” Guardiola said (via ESPN).
“I remember, it was a bit like Messi. It is like a hammer. They have a hammer in the neck. They are small but so good with the head contact.
“I am pleased for the win. They had some good chances and Villarreal are a top team.
“The vibe is good and the first half was really good. We scored in the right moments and we made a good threat.”
In January, after Haaland signed a mammoth new City deal, Guardiola said of the Norwegian: “In terms of numbers and scoring goals, he is similar to Leo.
“But they are different players. You cannot compare. Leo can play in different positions and can produce anything for his mates. It’s incomparable.”
City are in a much better position in the UCL than last season, when they finished 22nd in the first phase before being knocked out by Real Madrid in the knockout round play-offs.
“The difference with last season is that we had [injured] players in the hospital,” Guardiola added. “We had 15 or 16 players and they were getting tired after 70 minutes and needed to play every three games.”
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Man City plagued by midfield woes
While the City squad is generally in a much better position this time around, there have been plenty of issues in midfield.
Rodri returned from an ACL injury towards the end of last season but has since suffered pain in his knee and a hamstring issue.
Nico Gonzalez has performed well in Rodri’s absence this season but limped off with an apparent knee problem early in the second half against Villarreal.
Mateo Kovacic replaced Nico in Spain, though he himself has only just returned from a long-term Achilles injury and is still getting back to full match fitness.
Such injuries have shown Guardiola that City need to dip back into the transfer market for a new midfielder, even after the summer arrival of Tijjani Reijnders.
It emerged recently that City are battling Chelsea for arguably the Premier League’s most in-form defensive midfielder right now.
The Cityzens have also been credited with interest in Bayern Munich star Aleksandar Pavlovic and Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga.
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Meanwhile, City have reportedly entered the frame for a Portuguese midfielder who has been described as the ‘new Kaka’.
Guardiola knows Barca extremely well from his time there as a player and manager, and that could result in a big transfer next summer.
It has been claimed that Guardiola has made ‘contact’ for the signing of a top Barca full-back.