"He is made of a different material" - Manchester City star heaps praises on 'Viking' Erling Haaland for incredible performances

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has lauded his teammate Erling Haaland for racking up goals for fun in his debut season in England.

Haaland has scored at an inconceivable rate since joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer. The Norwegian has netted 42 times in 37 games in all competitions for Manchester City, becoming the record single-season scorer in the club’s history. The 22-year-old has also emerged as the leading goalscorer in the Premier League (28 goals) and the Champions League (10 goals) this season.

Impressed with Erling Haaland’s performances this season, Rodri claimed that the striker is built differently. Speaking at a press conference, the Spanish midfielder said (via MARCA):

“Haaland takes great care of himself, he is with the masseuse all day. He is made of a different material, he is a rock, a Viking.

“He's scoring an impressive number of goals and it's his first year and he's adapting. He has room for improvement within the concepts that we handle at Manchester City, and even so the numbers he has are incredible.”

Rodri was also asked whether or not Haaland had the quality to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Spain star replied:

“Be like Cristiano and Messi? Their key is in the regularity they had, but Haaland's mentality is incredible.

“Haaland is in the best place to grow, although many don't think so. Is his best place in Madrid? Well, everyone wants him in their team and now we want to keep him.”

In his last Champions League outing, Erling Haaland scored five goals in a 7-0 Round-of-16 second-leg demolition of RB Leipzig (8-1 aggregate win). He became only the third player, after Messi and Adriano, to score five goals in a Champions League game.

Manchester City sweating over Erling Haaland’s groin injury

Erling Haaland joined his international teammates ahead of Norway’s 2024 European Championship qualifying fixtures against Spain and Georgia. Shortly after, he had to leave the camp due to a groin injury.

While a complete assessment report is yet to arrive, football.london has speculated that Haaland could remain sidelined for between three and six weeks, depending on the severity of the injury.

Erling Braut Haaland will miss the games against Spain and Georgia due to a groin injury 🚨🔵🇳🇴 #MCFC

Haaland has left the Norway squad, as official FA statement announced. https://t.co/iAbvgZQZuu

His injury could hand Arsenal a huge boost in the Premier League race, as Manchester City could lose ground in Haaland's absence. The Cityzens are alive in both cup competitions (FA Cup and Champions League) apart from the Premier League.

The Gunners, on the other hand, only have 10 Premier League games to play until the end of the season. Mikel Arteta's side have an eight-point lead over second-placed City in the Premier League.

It will be interesting to see how Pep Guardiola goes about coping without his best player in the most crucial phase of the season.