Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola smiled on Friday at jokey petitions calling for striker Erling Haaland to be banned for being too good and said the Norwegian had a natural goalscoring instinct that was impossible to teach.
Haaland has scored 14 of City’s 29 Premier League goals so far this season with hattricks in his last three home matches.
“What can I teach, be here or there one metre?” Guardiola told reporters ahead of a home match against Southampton on Saturday that could send City to the top of the League standings
“He has an incredible sense as a striker of where the ball is going to finish. He goes one second before the ball arrives there. He has this talent, this quality, it’s not about scoring goals. All the time, if it’s a deflection or a cross, he’s there.
“How can I as a manager teach him? ... it’s impossible. It’s just complete instinct, it’s natural.”
Haaland, 22, has been the talk of the season in England, with joke petitions now popping up on social media for him to be banned because ‘he’s a robot’ or ‘it’s just not fair’.
Guardiola said Haaland would have a few weeks of vacation during the World Cup in Qatar which starts on November 20, with Norway failing to qualify, and all the media attention on the striker was not a problem for the team.
“There are 15 questions about Erling at every press conference. For me it’s OK. We are fortunate because the guys who are here accept it perfectly,” he said.
“In other clubs, there are people who would not like it. Here, people like Kevin (De Bruyne), who is an exceptional person ... he’s happy to have him because both know they can be better playing alongside (each other).”
Fofana injury
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana’s knee injury is not as bad as initially feared and the Frenchman could be back in a few weeks, manager Graham Potter said on Friday, adding that midfielder N’Golo Kante is also nearing a return.
Fofana, who arrived from Leicester City in a deal worth £75 million ($83.51 million) in late August, scored his first goal for Chelsea in the 3-0 win against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday before limping off.
“Wesley’s knee is not as bad as we thought so that is good. It will be a few weeks I think but considerably better than it could be,” Potter told reporters ahead of Saturday’s home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chelsea are fifth on the table with 13 points, seven clear of 18th-placed Wolves who sacked manager Bruno Lage last week. Wolves’ visit will also mark the return of former Chelsea striker Diego Costa to Stamford Bridge, where he spent three years.
Fine for pitch invasion
City were fined £260,000 ($288,808) by the Football Association (FA) on Friday for their fans’ behaviour after they celebrated last season’s Premier League title win by invading the pitch following victory over Aston Villa.
City came back from two goals down to beat Villa 3-2, prompting supporters to rush onto the Etihad Stadium pitch.
