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Pep Guardiola has put Erling Haaland’s incredible scoring run down to his ‘joy of life’ as beaten Burnley boss Vinny Kompany admitted the Manchester City striker is on the way to be an elite player like Ronaldo and Messi.
Haaland took his season’s tally to 42 with a sixth hat-trick of the season in Saturday's 6-0 FA Cup rout against Burnley, matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s best tally for Manchester United when he won the Ballon d’Or.
The Norwegian will soon pass Mo Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League era record of 44 goals in all competitions, with Clive Allen’s 49 for Tottenham in 1986/87 also under threat. Dixie Dean’s 60 goals in the 1920s would be the ultimate personal achievement.
Guardiola said: ‘This guy (Haaland) will have a problem in the future because everyone will expect to him to get three or four every game, and that’s not going to happen.
‘But I know him, he doesn’t care about that. He is so positive and optimistic in his life. He never complains and as long as the team plays with this intensity, he will score goals, though the exact target, I don’t know.
Erling Haaland took his season’s tally to 42 with a sixth hat-trick of the season against Burnley
Pep Guardiola heaped praise on the striker before claiming his 'joy of life' has been the key
‘He is so effective and is such an
