'I wish Haaland would disappear from the Premier League'

Everton's manager David Moyes showed clear respect for Erling Haaland following the loss against Man City.

Although considered the underdog, Everton performed well at Etihad Stadium in the first half. However, they were unable to stop Erling Haaland as the Norwegian star was given free rein to shine with a second-half brace.

When asked what he said to the Norwegian striker after the final whistle, David Moyes replied humorously: "I told him I wish he played somewhere else. Honestly, I think most other managers probably feel the same, don’t they?”.

Moyes believed his team did well in limiting Haaland’s impact, despite the player scoring twice: “I think in the match against Man City, we did a good job marking him. But then you wonder: ‘How can you say that when he just scored two goals?’. That’s a different challenge and certainly not many defenses can stop that. Haaland’s scoring ability is something very few possess. When it’s one-on-one, he is almost unstoppable.”

On the other side, coach Pep Guardiola praised his player highly, while noting Haaland could have scored more than two if he had been more clinical in the final minutes: "I’m really pleased. Our players found Haaland more than before. Not much in the first half, but more afterwards. That’s crucial because when you have a player like him, you need to know how to utilize him."

Besides scoring at least 10 goals in 8 matches this season, Haaland also achieved this feat in the (2022/23) and (2024/25) seasons. The Norwegian striker’s brace helped Man City beat Everton 2-0, earning 3 points that temporarily placed Etihad’s team second in the standings with 16 points, 3 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Counting both club and national team appearances, Erling Haaland has scored in 11 consecutive matches. During this streak, he has netted a total of 20 goals (11 for Man City and 9 for Norway).

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