Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves are backing Erling Haaland to score over 40 GOALS this season after the Man City star added two more in his defeat by Sevilla… while Pep Guardiola hails his striker’s “incredible flair” in the box
- Erling Haaland scored twice in Man City’s 4-0 win over Sevilla on Tuesday
- He has now scored 12 goals in just seven games for Pep Guardiola’s side
- Owen Hargreaves believes he will score 45 goals in all competitions
- Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott believe he will score more than 40 goals
- City boss Pep Guardiola has also praised Haaland’s “incredible sense” for goals
Owen Hargreaves has tipped Erling Haaland to have 45 goals in all competitions this season after the striker continued his remarkable record for Manchester City against Sevilla on Tuesday.
Haaland scored in both halves, either side of a Phil Foden strike before Ruben Dias struck from close range in stoppage time for an all-out 4-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Haaland has now scored 12 goals in his first seven games for City and Hargreaves doesn’t see him slowing down any time soon. He believes the 22-year-old will break Mohamed Salah’s Premier League record for a 38-game season when he scored 32 goals in 2017/18.
Erling Haaland scored against Sevilla in the first half to put Man City ahead in the game
He tapped home from close range in the second half after Phil Foden’s shot was saved
Haaland has now scored 12 goals in just seven games early in his City career
Owen Hargreaves believes Haaland will score 45 goals in all competitions this season
When asked how many goals Haaland will score, Hargreaves told BT Sport: 45 I think in all competitions. I think he breaks the prem one (record) and gets 45 overall.
Hargreaves was joined in the studio by Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott and both agreed Haaland has every chance of scoring 40+ goals this season.
“I guess he’ll be 41,” predicted Ferdinand.
“Early 40s,” Lescott added.
City will play three times a week until the start of the World Cup in November and they are also expected to go deep in all four competitions they are involved in this season.
With that in mind, Lescott pointed out that Haaland may need to rest from time to time, which could hurt his chances of hitting such outrageous numbers.
Rio Ferdinand expects Haaland to score more than 40 goals after his phenomenal start this season
Lescott has also assisted Haaland in scoring over 40 goals for Pep Guardiola’s team this season
“I think he can keep the relationship. I just don’t know if he’s going to get enough games,” he said.
However, Ferdinand responded by highlighting that Haaland will not feature at the World Cup as Norway failed to qualify and suggested he could benefit from the break in national action.
“The only thing he has in his favor is the World Cup. He’s not going to the World Cup, so in his mind he’ll be thinking, “I’m rested, I need to get more chances to score more goals for sure.”
“I would definitely say that’s in his favor when it comes to hitting the numbers we’re talking about,” said Ferdinand.
Guardiola, meanwhile, was delighted to see Haaland back on the goalscoring chart and praised the striker’s thirst for goals.
Pep Guardiola is delighted with Haaland’s start and hopes he can keep scoring goals
“I think his numbers in his career, not only here but also in previous teams, are quite similar,” he said in his post-game interview.
“He has an incredible sense of goals. He hit two, he had a chance to score two or three more. He has incredible numbers so we have another final against Tottenham on Saturday and hopefully he can keep scoring.
Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund and 29 in just 26 games for Red Bull Salzburg before moving to Germany.
Those numbers show he usually scores around a goal a game and with City set to play more than 50 games this season he’s well on his way to proving Hargreaves right in their predictions.
