Soccer-We can't just rely on Haaland, says Man City boss Guardiola

By Lori Ewing MANCHESTER, England, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Despite Erling Haaland's latest heroics — a clinical double in Manchester City's 2-0 Premier League win over Everton on Saturday — manager Pep Guardiola made it clear the Norwegian striker cannot carry the scoring burden alone. The 25-year-old Haaland is in red-hot scoring form, with 23 goals for club and country this season. But City's supporting cast has struggled to find the net, with no other player scoring more than once in the league. "Disappointed (Haaland) did not score four or five," Guardiola said after the victory that propelled City provisionally top of the table. "All jokes aside, really pleased, (but) we cannot rely on just him. We need other players. Wingers, attacking midfielders, they have to make a step up and score goals." Guardiola pointed to missed chances from Savinho, Jeremy Doku and Tijjani Reijnders as examples of opportunities that must be converted. "The chances were clear and they have to score. At this level they have to demand themselves," he said. "They have to do it otherwise we can't do what we want to do." Defender Ruben Dias echoed the sentiment, saying: "(Haaland is) a very important player for us, but we want everyone to be involved and everyone to be scoring, not just Erling." Guardiola was pleased that his players were able to find Haaland "much, much more" in the second half. "Of course the presence from Erling, his stature is huge, we know that, he moves really well," the City boss said. "When we have this type of player you have to use him, you have to put the ball near him. You have to put the ball close to him as much as possible." Haaland leads the league with 11 goals in eight games. Only three times has a player scored 10-plus goals in the first eight games of a Premier League season, and they have all been Haaland, in 2022-23, 2024-25 and this season. "(Haaland) is always there for us at the right times," said City midfielder Phil Foden. "That is the sign of a world-class striker." (Reporting by Lori Ewing Editing by Toby Davis)

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