Defending champions resume title defense with a win

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has likened Erling Haaland’s performances and numbers for the Cityzens to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after Haaland scored 91 goals in 100 games for the club.

Erling Haaland reached the milestone with the opening goal and Manchester City’s first goal in 2024/2025 Premier League season when they faced Chelsea in Stamford Bridge on Sunday with a 2-0 win.

The Norwegian scored in the 18th minute for his 64 goals in 67 Premier League appearances, meaning that no player has scored more than him since his Premier League debut while his nearest challenger is Egyptian and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah who has 38 in 71 games.

After the game, Pep Guardiola compared Haaland to the two players who controlled and ruled football got a decade and a half.

“These are the numbers of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They controlled the last decade and 15 years absolutely everything. In terms of numbers, it is that level. I don’t know how he does it, but scoring 91 goals in 100 games in this Premier League in this country is unbelievable.” Guardiola said.

Erling Haaland will hope to emulate the former Arsenal striker and Premier League legend Thierry Henry as he hopes to win a third consecutive Golden Boot. Thierry Henry won his third in a row in 2004.

Furthermore, he has scored 50 Premier League goals in just 48 games to score with just 17 games less than previous record holder Cole.

Manchester City were not totally dominant in the game and Chelsea had a goal disallowed when Nicholas Jackson’s strike just before halftime was ruled out for offside.

Former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic sealed the win for the visitors with a strike from the edge of the box with six minutes from full-time. Manchester City. Manchester City will face Ipswich Town next weekend at Etihad.