Pep Guardiola will never get sick of talking about Erling Haaland, but he insists comparisons to Lionel Messi are unwelcome.
The Manchester City boss has promised striker Haaland a holiday during the World Cup, because Norway have not qualified, and he may need a break in any case after a breathless start to his career in England.
Haaland has a staggering 14 goals from eight Premier League games already, and Mohamed Salah's record of 32 goals in a 38-game season already looks under serious threat. Kevin De Bruyne was City's top league scorer last season with 15.
Former Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland has stayed healthy and the goals have flowed, just as City's title rivals feared they would.
At this rate, Haaland could finish the season with the sort of haul Messi often brought in for Barcelona during his prime years, regularly scoring more than 50 across all competitions.
Guardiola has been fortunate to coach them both, and he was asked whether the attention foisted on Haaland was the most he has known since having Messi under his wing at Barcelona.
"The people who compare Erling with Leo, I think we don't help," Guardiola said. "How many 'new Messis' appeared in the world of football since I started? Ten, 15?
"Always you fail. Erling has to do his own career, his own job. He's a different player."
Guardiola pointed to the number of times he is asked about Haaland. He also suggested that within other teams, such focus on a big-time player might cause unrest.
"For me, it's OK," Guardiola said. "We're fortunate that the guys who are here accept it perfectly. At other clubs, other people, would not like it.
"Here they are delighted. We have Kevin [De Bruyne] who is an exceptional person and is happy to have him, because both know they can be better playing alongside [each other].
"The same for all of them. We don't have incredible players who say, 'Why do they always talk about just him?'.
"This is why it's a joy to train this type of players."
Guardiola said he would rather Haaland was playing at the World Cup.
"But he's young, and he'll have an opportunity in four years," added the City boss. "Fans want to see the best players possible and Erling is one of them."
With three hat-tricks in his last three Premier League home games, capped by last week's treble against Manchester United, Haaland is on a special streak.
Southampton visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and while they held City to home and away draws last season, that was before Haaland arrived.
City are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, following Tottenham's defeat to Arsenal last week, and have won their last eight home games in the competition, scoring three or more goals each time.
Aston Villa were the last team to have a longer run of top-flight home wins while scoring three-plus goals in each game, putting a run of 13 together between December 1930 and September 1931.
Perhaps City will threaten that mark, if Haaland stays fit and in form. Guardiola is bewitched by his striker's movement and how he reads play.
"It's just the fact there's a deflection, and he's there. Why does the ball finish where he is?" said the Spaniard.
"What can I teach? It's complete instincts, it's natural. He did it in Norway, in Austria, in Germany, and he's doing it here."
And yet Guardiola still feels Haaland can improve.
"Every player knows, 'I can do better'," said Guardiola. "In our life we have a chance to always improve until we die, and he's not an exception."
Guardiola is not blind to the potential for Haaland to break records this season.
"It would be good," Guardiola said. "If he continues this rhythm, then you don't have to be a clever person to realise it, but who knows.
"After the Community Shield some people had a lot of doubts; now they have a lot of certainties.
"At the end of the season we'll see, okay, he's scored how many goals, how many chances have we had to win the titles?"
'We need tactics, but also luck' – Tuchel says Bayern up against Madrid 'aura'
Thomas Tuchel has warned his Bayern Munich team they will not only be facing Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, but also going up against Los Blancos' European "aura".
While Tuchel will leave the Allianz Arena having suffered the ignominy of overseeing Bayern's first failure to win the Bundesliga title since 2012, he could yet bring Europe's top prize to Bavaria.
Bayern reached the last four with a 3-2 aggregate triumph over Arsenal, but they face a daunting task against the team that eliminated holders Manchester City in the last round.
Bayern are winless in their last seven games against Madrid, losing six and drawing one, and Los Blancos have won on their last three trips to the Allianz Arena – the longest winning streak ever recorded by a visiting team at Bayern in European Cup/Champions League history.
Coming up against Madrid in a competition they regard as their own, Tuchel believes, presents an additional challenge.
"When you're playing against Real Madrid, you're also up against the aura and the legend that surrounds them," Tuchel said at Monday's pre-match press conference.
"Obviously we need tactics, but also some luck. You can achieve a lot with tactics. The approach is the car, and the players drive it.
"We need to find a good balance and moments where we have solutions. The players also need freedom to bring it to life.
"But obviously we also need some luck in the game. We need to coax out that luck a bit as well."
Bayern versus Madrid is already the most played fixture in European Cup/Champions League history, taking place 26 times with 24 of those coming in the knockout stages.
Tuchel believes the tie would have been a fitting final, adding: "The semi-final already feels a bit like the final. My approach is to line up like a final.
"We won't approach it with the background that there's still a game to play. We want to play the game in isolation. We have the freedom, we'll put everything in tomorrow and then we'll see."
Ederson injury 'doesn't look good', says Guardiola
Pep Guardiola conceded Ederson's injury "doesn't look good" as Manchester City were forced to wait on the severity of the issue.
Ederson had to be taken off at half-time during City's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a victory that took them back to within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
The Brazil international needed treatment on an apparent shoulder injury after a collision with Forest defender Willy Boly.
Ederson was seen with his arm in a sling after full-time at the City Ground.
And Guardiola said: "It doesn't look good. We will see [on Monday] with the doctor."
Stefan Ortega again stepped up in Ederson's absence, with City's number two having performed well when called upon this campaign.
Ortega has made seven Premier League appearances this season, making 16 saves from 22 shots on target faced, giving him a save percentage of 72.7.
Ederson, meanwhile, has a save percentage of 67.1, keeping out 53 of the 79 attempts on target he has faced.
Ortega has a slightly better goals prevented figure of 1.6 compared to Ederson's 1.0.
Nuno encouraged by Forest's attitude and commitment, despite Man City defeat
Nuno Espirito Santo believes Nottingham Forest will "achieve what we want" by replicating the attitude demonstrated during their defeat by Manchester City.
Forest went down 2-0 against their title-chasing opponents at the City Ground, and remain just a point clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining.
Despite the defeat, the hosts produced a spirited performance against Pep Guardiola's side, while registering 14 shots on goal compared to 11 from the Citizens - meaning they had had more shots in both meetings this season.
Forest face already relegated Sheffield United, Chelsea and fellow strugglers Burnley in their final three games, and Nuno has seen enough to be confident of securing the Reds' Premier League status for another year.
"We played a good game, were compact, organised and had chances," he told Sky Sports. "We did a good job regarding how hard it is to play against Manchester City, and the players gave it a big go.
"We are disappointed with the result, but the encouragement comes from the way we work, how committed we are, and what we have ahead of us. This is more important.
"We stay positive, and we go for the next three games. With this attitude, we will achieve what we want."
Defender Moussa Niakhate echoes his manager's thoughts, adding: "We had three big chances in the first half, but we didn't score. That was the difference.
"Everybody is working hard. We can be proud. If we perform like this in the next three games, we'll stay up."
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