ERLING HAALAND banged in three, City notched six — then the Norwegian claimed his ‘sloppy’ side should have had more!
Haaland and fellow hat-trick hero Phil Foden blitzed Manchester rivals United.
But the striker said: “It could have been more. In the second half we should have been tighter, worked a bit harder, because it was a bit sloppy at times.
“We lost the second half and this is not good, so we still have to work.”
Haaland has netted hat-tricks in three consecutive home Premier League games. The 6ft 5in Terminator has an astonishing 17 goals this season — 14 in the Prem.
That is more than 14 TEAMS have managed!
City were 4-0 up after a first-half rampage and then 6-1 ahead before two late goals from Anthony Martial gave United some respect.
It was 22-year-old Haaland’s first Manchester derby.
He added: “I felt it a little bit before the game that something special is going to happen and we saw today that some special things happened. It was nice.
“On Friday I felt it in the whole training ground. It’s these games I want to play in. These are the best games where there’s a bit extra.”
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City boss Pep Guardiola hailed Haaland as a natural-born killer but refused to take any credit for his astonishing start.
He said: “When he attacks the box, how he moves behind the central defender away from the action, he has incredible instincts that the ball will arrive there.
“It comes from his mum and dad. He was born with that and it’s just to help him produce more goals.
“He came and realised: ‘Oh, these guys, my mates, run like animals and I have to do it, too’.
“Of course, the quality we have alongside him helps him to score goals. But what he has done, I didn’t teach him once.”
Guardiola, who has worked with Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and City’s record scorer Sergio Aguero, warned Haaland will only get better.
He added: “I had incredible centre-forwards in my career. What I like in the last period of this game is he is involved.
“He said: ‘I prefer to touch the ball five times and score five goals’. We have this incredible sense that he always looks starving and is so competitive. The numbers are scary.”
Homegrown hero Foden scored the first hat-trick of his City career as both players took their own match ball home.
England star Foden, also 22, said: “It’s a dream come true playing in a derby being a City fan as well. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of this team.”
