Pep Guardiola happy as Man City give Erling Haaland some goal support

Pep Guardiola was pleased to see another name on the scoresheet as Manchester City won 2-0 at Villarreal on Tuesday.

Erling Haaland, almost inevitably, struck yet again as City claimed their first Champions League away win six attempts but his early effort was followed by a powerful header from captain Bernardo Silva.

City manager Guardiola said after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat of Everton – when Haaland grabbed a brace, meaning he had scored City’s last seven goals in all competitions – that the team could not always rely on the Norwegian, who has now netted a remarkable 24 times in 14 outings for club and country this season.

Guardiola said: “I’m pleased Erling scored again and pleased Bernardo scored as well, with his head.

“I remember, it was a bit like (Lionel) Messi. It is like a hammer. They have a hammer in the neck. They are small but so good with the head contact.

“I am pleased for the win. They had some good chances and Villarreal are a top team.

“The vibe is good and the first half was really good. We scored in the right moments and we made a good threat.”

City, who are nine games unbeaten in all competitions, have now secured seven points from their three outings in the league phase.

It is a healthy position for a team who struggled last season and failed to make the last 16.

“The difference with last season is that we had (injured) players in the hospital,” said Guardiola. “We had 15 or 16 players and they were getting tired after 70 minutes and needed to play every three games.”

Victory was never really in doubt although Villarreal gave them some uncomfortable moments in the second half.

Guardiola said: “We felt in control for most of the game. There’s always better things we can do and we think there were a few spells that they had that we could’ve prevented, but we have to be harsh on ourselves if we want to win the competition.

“We’re happy with a clean sheet and a win.

“We were not nervous but a game is never closed at 2-0. We had several chances but they had two. This is what happens.

“We took a long time to make them play deep and we need to improve on that and will improve on that.”