Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said Erling Haaland is at the standard of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to finding the net after scoring twice on his return from injury in a 4-1 win at Southampton on Saturday. Victory took City to within five points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. Haaland has now scored 44 times in his debut season with the English champions, including 30 in 27 Premier League appearances. 

The Norwegian’s second goal was special as the giant striker acrobatically volleyed home Jack Grealish’s cross with an overhead kick. “The second goal was amazing. It is not easy to pick the ball up in the sky and put it on the grass,” said Guardiola, who coached Messi during four years as Barcelona coach. “We need him. The first half was not our best level but he changed the game. As a top scorer we lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but he is on that level. He scores a lot of goals. I am very happy with 65 minutes after injury and he helped us again.”