Featured Image Credit: Manchester City/PA
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Erling Haaland, Premier League
Ella Scott
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Erling Haaland, Premier League
Manchester City head honcho Pep Guardiola has given budding football stars of the future advice on how to be like Erling Haaland when they grow up.
Ahead of City’s clash with Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 6 May, Guardiola sat down with the press to discuss tactics, Champions League hopes, and what makes super striker Haaland tick.
During the press conference, Guardiola touched on Haaland’s previous claim that cow's milk is the driving force behind his stunning 35-goal season.
Back in April, a source close to the 22-year-old Norwegian striker revealed to The Sun that powdered cows milk mixed with spinach and kale is the recipe to Haaland’s success this season.
The Man City forward has also previously called the concoction his ‘magic potion’ and now Guardiola is weighing in on the claims.
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When asked by a member of the media if he was planning on playing Haaland for the full 90-minutes against Leeds, he said: “He feels so strong right now.”
Then, when prompted to discuss his striker’s fitness levels, Guardiola stated: “The people say he has milk, or something, drinks something like that.
“[Magic potion] Yeah, people say that, but I drink also this ‘magic potion’ and I don’t score 50 goals. That’s for sure.
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Guardiola then dispensed some wisdom relating to how young football fans could become as prolific as Haaland in the future.
He said: “I would recommend to little boys who want to emulate Erling to try to emulate skills than in drinks.”
While Guardiola has all but dismissed the ‘magic potion’ claims, he might do well to remind Haaland to drink the concoction ahead of City’s UEFA Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid tomorrow (May 9).
The squad are set to fly out shortly and face the 14-time Champions League winners at Santiago Bernabeu in the first semi-final leg.
City will then host Carlo Ancelotti’s side at home on May 17, where they will be hoping to book their place in the final.
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The Champions League final is set to take place at Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday 10 June — but City have eight games in all competitions to get through before then.
In the Premier League, Guardiola’s men still face fixtures against Everton, Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.
There’s also the impromptu Wembley-based Manchester Derby, where either City or local rivals Manchester United will hoist the FA Cup.
Earlier last month it was reported that the forthcoming FA Cup final would be moved to an earlier 3pm kick-off on 3 June.
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The decision was made in collaboration with the FA and The Metropolitan Police, who believed that the event was a high-risk future and that public transport could be impacted by travelling fans.