His mind is made up but he is still here and that’s what we all want – Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has warned that Manchester City’s players “will be trembling” when they face one Premier League club this season. The champions have started their title defense strongly, securing two wins, including an away victory over Chelsea. Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored in the Chelsea match, and Haaland later netted a hat-trick against Ipswich Town.
Despite their strong start, Guardiola highlighted Newcastle as a particularly tough opponent. Speaking to Men in Blazers before Manchester City’s first home game, he named Arsenal and Tottenham as top challengers, noting Arsenal’s strength and Tottenham’s playing style.
Guardiola pointed out that Newcastle’s lack of European competition and their intense, physical play make them a significant threat. He said, “Newcastle will be back because they only have one game a week. Their energy and physicality will make us tremble.”
Regarding other competitors, Guardiola mentioned Manchester United and Chelsea, both bolstered by new signings, and noted that Aston Villa’s performance in both the Champions League and Premier League will be worth watching. He concluded that making the top four again will be challenging with many strong teams in the mix.
Messi, Ronaldo, Haaland and Mbappé in top 10 players with most hat-tricks
©TM/IMAGO
Erling Haaland is quite simply a goalscoring phenomenon. He has scored at a ridiculous rate at Molde, RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and with Norway. At just 24, Haaland has scored a remarkable 260 goals in 317 appearances since making his professional debut for Bryne in his homeland in 2016.
Haaland is widely regarded as the best striker in the world and he’s the most valuable player on the planet currently at €180 million, alongside Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham. Haaland highlighted his lethal finishing ability by scoring a hat-trick against Ipswich on Saturday as Man City continued their impressive start to the season on their quest for a fifth consecutive Premier League title. Remarkably, it represented Haaland’s 22th career hat-trick already and he’s well placed the records set by two legends of the game.
Top 10 players with the most hat-tricks in their careers since 2000
When analysing players with the most hat-tricks across the top 15 leagues, European competition and international games since 2000, Cristiano Ronaldo sits first. The 39-year-old has netted an impressive 60 hat-tricks across his career spanning Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and with Portugal. Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have enjoyed a healthy rivalry across their careers and the Argentinian ranks second. Messi has scored 57 hat-tricks in 1033 games, which works out as one every 18.1 games – slightly better of Ronaldo’s average of one every 19.2 games. Ronaldo’s time in Saudi Arabia and Messi’s MLS adventure are not included in our statistics.
While Haaland ranks 5th for most hat-tricks, the Norwegian easily has the best ratio for scoring them. His 22 hat-tricks have arrived in just 250 games across games in the designated competitions, which calculates as a hat-trick every 11.4 games. At his current scoring rate, Haaland is on track to eclipse Ronaldo and Messi’s records for career hat-tricks. There’s a considerable gap between Ronaldo and Messi to Robert Lewandowski, who sits third in the list of most hat-tricks. The Polish international is still playing with Barcelona but he won’t catch the top two, unlike Haaland.
Luis Suárez and Harry Kane complete the top five with the England captain registering a trio of goals four times last season with Bayern Munich against Bochum, Darmstadt, Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City speaks with teammate John Stones during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Ipswich Town FC a…
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
It is difficult not to admire Manchester City for the way they are run as a footballing institution.
On Monday, it was reported that Pep Guardiola is happy with his squad despite not signing a replacement for Julian Alvarez and unless they spot a player who fits their side in every possible way, City will not bolster their striking department.
Despite Manchester City’s financial muscle often being highlighted, the aforementioned report is an example of how the club function in an intelligent and measured fashion.
It is no coincidence that Pep Guardiola’s side is the benchmark for other teams in the Premier League because the way they are run from top to bottom is well and truly one of a kind.
Once again this season, it is no surprise that Roy Keane expects City to win the league alongside other pundits due to various factors, potentially including how they function as a club.
Whether the Sky Blues do manage to finish first will reveal itself with time but the club will remain in a position to compete for the subsequent campaigns.
Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City jokes with teammates Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Ip…
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Mikel gives his honest verdict on Ilkay Gundogan returning to Man City
Ilkay Gundogan’s return to the Premier League champions is the hottest topic surrounding the club at the minute.
Considering Gundogan turns 34 in October, there might be some skeptics around the move.
Especially considering the plethora of young midfielders who are thriving in Europe.
Whereas the German’s potential shelf life at the elite level might not continue for too long.
Yet, John Obi Mikel feels Manchester City have taken a spectacular decision to re-sign Gundogan.
The pundit said on The Obi One Podcast: “They’ve gone out and they’ve got Ilkay Gundogan back at the football club. One of the best players, the treble-winning captain. He’s left the club and he’s come back. The guy who knows how to arrive at the right place at the right time and score goals.”
“And I thought that signing was absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”
“He knows the team, he knows the system, he doesn’t need time to settle, he doesn’t!”
John Obi Mikel added that in his view, Pep Guardiola did not want to let Gundogan leave in the summer of 2023, who has signed for the club on a free transfer now.
“Of course, Pep [Guardiola] absolutely loves Ilkay Gundogan, I don’t think he wanted him to leave in the first place last time when he left.”
“But now he’s back and I think this City side is going to go from strength to strength because he’s going to bring what he had before, he’s going to bring it back to the team and they’re going to score lots of goals.”
Gundogan will be looking to get going at Man City instantly
Considering John Obi Mikel and others rightly feel Gundogan knows the system and the club like the back of his hand, the player will be hoping to restart his Manchester City career in blistering fashion.
The former Barcelona midfielder has not joined the club as a player on the decline.
Gundogan was one of La Liga’s best players last season and remains at a stage of his career where he could maintain his status as a world-class performer.
With City looking to win their fifth Premier League title on the trot, the seasoned campaigner will be looking to cement his place as a starter and help the club achieve their ambition.
Despite Gundogan’s magnificence as a player, he will realise that there is competition for places in the middle of the park due to the presences of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Phil Foden in the side.
How the ex-Borussia Dortmund technician deals with having to fight for his place will be interesting to see.
However, a serial winner like Gundogan will likely embrace the challenge of proving himself in a City shirt once again.
Related Topics
Leave a Reply