<figure id="attachment_3200928" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3200928" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3200928 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/6e2d6143-afp__20251104__82yg2y9__v1__midres__fbleurc1mancitypresser_cropped_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3200928" class="wp-caption-text">Manchester City&#8217;s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland arrives for a press conference at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north-west England. (AFP pic)</figcaption></figure>
MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland may be on a record-breaking scoring pace, but Manchester City&#8217;s prized striker insists he is focusing on team success as he prepares to face his former club Borussia Dortmund in Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
The 25-year-old Norwegian has netted 26 goals in just 16 appearances for club and country this season, putting him on track to surpass his own personal best of 57 goals in a single campaign.
&#8220;I am in a good way (to breaking that) but I don&#8217;t think of this. We need to focus on tomorrow and that&#8217;s how my brain works. I need to think in the present,&#8221; he said at a press conference today.
Does he think Alan Shearer&#8217;s Premier League scoring record of 260 goals is within reach?
&#8220;I have to ignore (records),&#8221; Haaland reiterated. &#8220;Thinking about records I can break is the last thing on my mind, I try to help the team win football games. That is my main focus,&#8221; he said.
He also scoffed at comparisons to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying &#8220;no one can get close to those two&#8221;.
He similarly shrugged off manager Pep Guardiola&#8217;s compliments about how humble he is.
&#8220;I am a Norwegian guy and I shouldn&#8217;t think I am something because I am scoring goals,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I am just Erling and this is something that will never change,&#8221; he added.
Haaland is also keen to take Norway into the 2026 World Cup.
They last qualified in 1998, two years before he was born.
Norway top Group I of qualifying and a win against Estonia on Nov 13 could secure them a berth.
&#8220;There&#8217;s big, big few games for us,&#8221; he said of the international fixtures.
&#8220;The main goal of my career, (is) to take Norway to World Cup and now I have a good chance to do it. So, it&#8217;s about taking the chances,&#8221; he said.
The striker also spoke candidly about how becoming a dad last December has brought him more &#8220;balance&#8221;.
&#8220;Suddenly there&#8217;s someone waking you up every morning,&#8221; Haaland said.
&#8220;It got me even more focused, because I can switch off even more; you need the balance between focusing and doing the completely opposite, not focusing at all,&#8221; he said.
Guardiola, who gave his squad the day off from training today, emphasised the importance of managing the workload of players such as Haaland.
&#8220;I always try to organise the team to allow him to run as less as possible.
&#8220;He is so big and cannot play 90 minutes every three days,&#8221; Guardiola said.
&#8220;I always think of (playing) every three days and manage to control the ball through the passes and can handle the game the way you want to &#8211; you survive. Less injuries also,&#8221; he added.
City are seventh in the Champions League table with seven points after three games in the single-league format.

MatchPoint Times

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