“Haaland did it in Salzburg and Germany, the statistics are ridiculous,” Guardiola said after the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town in the second round of the Premier League. “Haaland can compete with Ronaldo and Messi in terms of goals. The numbers are unbelievable for his age. He is an incredible threat and hopefully he can do it for many years to come.”

At the Etihad Stadium on August 24, Ipswich surprisingly opened the scoring in the 7th minute thanks to a close-range shot from striker Sammie Szmodics. But Haaland’s hat-trick helped Man City win and extend their unbeaten home streak in the Premier League to 31 matches.

The Norwegian striker equalized the score in the 12th minute by taking a penalty kick, heading the ball past goalkeeper Arijanet Muric and shooting into an empty net for a double in the 16th minute, then finishing with his left foot from outside the box to complete his hat-trick in the 88th minute. The remaining goal for Man City was scored by Kevin de Bruyne.

Haaland now has 94 goals in 101 games for Man City in all competitions, including 67 in 68 Premier League games. The Norwegian striker has seven hat-tricks in the competition, equal to Wayne Rooney and behind only Michael Owen, Harry Kane, Thierry Henry (8), Robbie Fowler (9), Alan Shearer (11) and Sergio Aguero (12).

After just two rounds, Haaland has broken away from the race for the Golden Boot with four goals. The 24-year-old striker has the opportunity to equal the record of being the top scorer for three consecutive seasons in the Premier League, held by two legends Alan Shearer (1994-1997) and Thierry Henry (2003-2006).

According to Guardiola, not participating in Euro 2024 with Norway has given Haaland a full summer break and he is in top form. “I said a few weeks ago that Haaland feels better than in previous seasons,” the Spanish coach said. “At the beginning of last season, Haaland told me he was tired, exhausted. This season, he didn’t participate in Euro and relaxed, he came back strong.”

Meanwhile, Haaland praised new signing Savinho for making an impact at Man City, and expressed his delight at the return of Ilkay Gundogan. “It’s great,” the Norwegian said. “It’s great to have Gundogan back. Gundogan is a great player and I really want to play with him.”

On August 23, Man City completed the signing of Ilkay Gundogan from Barca on a free transfer. The contract between the two sides is for one year, with an option to extend for 12 months. The German midfielder was a substitute, entered the field for the last 20 minutes of the match against Ipswich and was welcomed by fans at the Etihad.

“Yesterday I had my first training session and it felt like I had never been away from home,” Gundogan said. “It’s great to be back at this great club, with these great players and fans. I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Hopefully we can create new and good memories.”