Erling Haaland on Man City’s four-game losing run and what makes Pep Guardiola the best manager in the world

Sky Sports sat down with Man City striker Erling Haaland ahead of the Saturday Night Football clash with Tottenham to discuss the Premier League champions’ four-game losing run, how he has changed since joining the club two years ago and what makes Pep Guardiola the best manager in the world.

How desperate are you to get back out there and winning again?

Yeah, we lost four in a row. It’s not normal in a club like this. It hurts, it clearly does. And the motivation is bigger than ever to go on Saturday and to win the game and to get on the run again.

What are you like off the pitch when you’re having a difficult run like this – do you take it home with you?

No, I think it’s important to just let it go. It’s the most difficult thing, even in life, to let things go and be sad and everything. But focus on next because look how many games there are.

If I’m going to start thinking about the last four games, that’s not a good thing. And that’s exactly what I didn’t do. I went to the national team and we won two games.

So it’s about restarting, it’s about looking at what’s next, it’s about staying in the present moment and to look what’s ahead.

Sometimes players and managers talk about if you’ve lost a few games, you just want the next game to come straight away – but in this instance, do you think you needed the international break?

Yeah, I think it was good. I think it was good for everyone to maybe go to their countries and national teams and to restart a little bit. We lost four in a row, but how bad is it? It’s not that bad. It’s not like we got relegated. We’re still second place, we’ve still got plenty of games left.

You sound very calm – Do you think winning a lot helps you deal with these moments?

Yeah, I think in the end it’s about experience. When you win, you get more experience. But I think also in the end you need to keep calm, you need to focus on what you can do something with. Is it to speak about the games that we lost? No, it’s not. It’s about trying to make the team win in the next game. That’s my main focus.

Does it feel like previous seasons – a great start, bit of a dip October/November and then in the new year, just an incredible, unstoppable run – or something completely new?

If you look at the treble season, I think we looked worse than [what we achieved]. So, in the end, you should not think too much about it.

So, if it was worse during the treble season, what changed from where you didn’t look perfect to being perfect – what was the switch in that season?

I think it’s small details. It’s in everything, because in the end, football is about the small details. I remember that game [Tottenham at home] really well as well.

It was a tough game, 2-0 at half-time. And I remember the speech at half-time. Pep spoke about how many times we have turned around these results, especially at home, plenty of times.

So why shouldn’t we do it now? And we went out there and we just, with full force, attacked the game. And in the end, we won 4-2. And I think that’s a little bit Man City when we first start.

It’s difficult to stop us, you know. It’s kind of just the whole club just towards one goal and everything. And that’s what we’ve been doing for the last – ever since I came here, even before I came here, the club has been doing exactly that.

That’s the reason why they’ve been winning six Premier Leagues in the last seven years with Pep and the whole staff, with the whole club just aiming towards one goal and just pushing towards that.

What has the manager been like during this run?

He’s been calm. We just need to continue. We just need to do our best because in the end, you can’t do more than your best. So, he demands a lot. He demands us to be at our best in every training, in every game.

And that’s what we need to do. It hasn’t been good enough losing four games now, but let’s try to win the next. Let’s focus on the training today, the training tomorrow and then the game.

Is there a sense for you with Pep being in charge, like during the treble-winning season, he’ll find a way to get us playing again?

When you look at what he’s been doing for the club. He’s not bad, is he? So, he’s got my full trust. And if he tells me something, I’d better do it because he knows the best in the end. Everyone knows that. So, I’m sure he will find solutions now as well. I’m sure of that.

How different a player are you, as you sat here now, to the one that came in August 2022?

Of course, we develop, we change as footballers and everything is a different system. But I think I’m still a bit the same. It’s just the opponents are different. They play differently. They know me better.

In terms of you putting the ball in the back of the net, does Pep leave you to that?

Yeah, he gives me freedom there. But again, there are loads of things he wants me to do. And in the end, it’s a team sport. So, I just want to do what’s best for the team and to make the team win. Because in the end, if we don’t win games, nothing matters.

How good is Pep Guardiola – is he what you expected when you signed for the club?

From everything I heard, yeah. Exactly what I expected. He’s the best manager in the world. And I think we all know that. And he’s probably the best that ever existed on the earth.

I expected loads of things from him and he’s been delivering up to this every single second. I’m super happy and you can also see that when I play as well.

What makes him the best and makes him different?

I think it’s the small details. He always wants to put perfection on it. Of course, perfection doesn’t exist. But I think also the hungriness – how much he wants to develop players and how much he wants to develop me, and of course, how much he wants to win football games.

In the end, it’s about winning trophies and that’s the most important thing.