Pep Guardiola stresses impact of Erling Haaland off the ball for Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Erling Haaland, after the Norwegian striker scored a hat-trick against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

For the second straight Premier League game, Manchester City found themselves trailing in the first-half, after Patrick Viera’s side managed to convert two corner kicks, with the first deflecting off of John Stones in the fourth minute.

The second goal would not come until the 21st minute, after an unmarked Joachim Andersen headed the ball into the far corner of the net, just out of the reach of a diving Ederson.

When City emerged from the tunnel for the second half, they were much more energetic, with Bernardo Silva scoring eight minutes in and putting the Sky Blues on the board for the first time all afternoon.

What came after the Portuguese midfielder’s goal was nothing short of a master class from Erling Haaland, as the Norwegian international managed to lift his side up, scoring a second half hat trick.

Haaland’s first goal was a header off of a curling cross in from Phil Foden, who caught the ball in the left side of the box off of Julian Alvarez’s deflection.

The second goal for the Manchester City striker came in the 70th minute, after John Stones passed the ball across the penalty box, with Haaland tapping home from close range, giving his side the lead for the first time in the game.

The Norwegian’s final goal of his hat-trick came with just eight minutes remaining, after Ilkay Gundogan played a through pass into the Eagles' final third, which Haaland picked up despite tight markings from Joel Ward and Andersen.

Manager Pep Guardiola reflected on Haaland’s innate ability to score goals, praising the third goal as a sign of strength.

"It is important for him to get goals.

"He has the sense to score goals,” said the Catalan.

"The third one, to have the quality to be strong then put the ball in the net.”

Moving beyond his ability, the Manchester City head coach touched on the Norwegian’s energy levels and how it impacted his squad’s performance in the second half.

"I saw his body language at 0-2, how he encouraged mates.

"I have a feeling if he's not involved in the game, he's always there,” said Guardiola.

“As a striker that's incredible, he cannot touch the ball but he's always involved."