Guardiola Hails Haaland For Scoring Five Goals Against Luton Town

Pep Guardiola has reserved special praises for Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland for scoring five goals in the 6-2 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round tie on Tuesday.

It was a five-star performance from Haaland, who further underlined his importance for Manchester City with a ruthless performance alongside Kevin De Bruyne.

De Bruyne assisted the first four goals for Haaland as they both turned on the heat on Luton Town.

Haaland has now scored eight hat-tricks for Manchester City since joining the club last summer. He is also the first player to score five goals in a match twice for the club.

Guardiola has hailed the impact of his two key players since their return from injury.

Guardiola said: “I think Erling needs a guy with the vision, the quality and generosity. Kevin is a less selfish player in front of the goal, and if he could have helped him score another one, he would do it.

“And Kevin needs the movement from Erling but of course we know how aggressive they are.

“Stefan [Ortega Moreno] was amazing with the long passes – not just for Erling – to the players in between.

“As much as we can, we make every player has three or four touches and we can make extra passes and move the structure that they have and they did it really well.”

Manchester City’s next game is against Manchester United, but Guardiola believes it will be a different game against their rivals at the Etihad on Sunday.

“It’s a completely different game – when you have these up and down transitions when you can have metres behind them to run it’s difficult to control, but they have courage to do it.

“What can I say? The passing was good, the goals were good and we had two or three more chances to score more. The players played really well.

“United will be completely different they defend differently and have experienced players.

“Two days off now to refresh our minds and legs and prepare for the game.”

Mateo Kovacic scored the sixth goal to seal the victory for Manchester City at Kenilworth Road, while Jack Clark scored a brace for Luton Town.

Haaland has now scored 79 goals in 83 games for Manchester City in all competitions since making his debut for the club.

De Bruyne has now assisted 16 of Haaland’s 79 goals for Manchester City. The forward has described De Bruyne as a smart player, whom he enjoys playing with.

Haaland said: “Kevin de Bruyne is massive. He is doing what he is best at. It’s a pleasure playing with him.

“We know what we both want from each other. It clicks well. He is a smart player and I like to play with him.”