After Haaland scored twice against Bournemouth, Guardiola played down the idea that Manchester City are too reliant on the Norwegian striker for goals – no other player in the squad has netted more than once in the Premier League this season, and their second top scorer is 'own goal' (2).
Guardiola's argument after that match is that having someone as dominant as Haaland in a team is naturally going to see that individual dominate the goalscoring.
"This is what it's like if you play with Messi or Ronaldo, his influence is so big," the boss said.
"You see the numbers of that guy? Of course he's that level. Messi and Ronaldo have done it for 15 years, but this is the level. The first goal, the way he shoots the ball, it's like 'I am going to score'. He has that hunger. It's top. I said how incredibly coachable and manageable he is.
"I am tough sometimes with Haaland, but he is open-minded. He lives for the goals and sometimes the pressure cannot sustain 90 minutes, but that's normal. Without him it would be tough to be honest, but we are lucky that Omar is back, and we have fit players, it's good."