Erling Haaland has been in superb form recently for his club Manchester City in the Premier League. Such has been the influence of the Norwegian, his manager Pep Guardiola drew the comparison with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 22-year-old is still in the early days of his career but has already been the hot topic of headlines with his goal-scoring form. Haaland came back from an injury recently against Southampton scoring a brace. One of the goals he scored left the fans in awe of the striker for his acrobatic abilities.
Erling Haaland’s bicycle kick goal
Haaland came back from injury after opting out of Norway’s International games last month. But the striker looked anything but rusty as he opened the scoring for his side with a poacher’s finish in the 45th minute.
ERLING HAALAND SCORES A BICYCLE KICK FOR HIS 30TH LEAGUE GOAL OF THE SEASON!!!!!!
OUT OF THIS WORLD! 🤯🌍 pic.twitter.com/JXysOnNldj
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) April 8, 2023
Erling followed this with a breathtaking strike in the 75th minute as Man City secured the three points. Haaland was set up with a pass above his head by Jack Grealish but the forward showcased his acrobatics by scoring a bicycle kick. The goal invoked nostalgia among fans for Cristiano Ronaldo’s bicycle kick against Juventus which we will talk about later.
With the win against Southampton thanks to Haaland’s brace, Man City kept up the pressure on league leaders Arsenal. The Gunners bottled a two-goal lead against Liverpool making the title race ever so close with just 6 points between the top two teams.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s overhead kick in the Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored several brilliant goals throughout his career. Free kicks, long-range strikes, solo dribbles, and whatnot but there is one goal that is stuck in the memory of every Cristiano fan. It was his flying overhead kick against Juventus in 2018 that silenced the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
5 years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo scored THAT bicycle kick vs Juventus.
This view is insane. 🤯pic.twitter.com/9CqiRDgoI0
— TC (@totalcristiano) April 2, 2023
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Real Madrid were looking to achieve an unprecedented three-peat in the UCL in 2018 and met Juventus in the quarter-final. The Spanish side had already taken the lead through the Portuguese in the early minutes of the game in the tense quarter-final.
Ronaldo doubled Madrid’s lead in the 64th minute after flying through the air defying physics and netting a spectacular goal. This was Ronaldo’s only overhead kick throughout his career but the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner made sure that this one would be remembered for ages.
Lionel Messi’s solo goal against Athletic Bilbao
When you talk about outrageous goals, there is one name you can never keep out of the debate, Lionel Messi. The little master from Argentina has scored numerous amount of spectaculars throughout his career which made it a difficult task for us to choose one.
But there is one goal that stands out, the goal that summarizes the genius of Lionel Andres Messi. It was his solo goal against Getafe which drew comparisons to his idol and Argentine legend, Diego Maradona.
The world already knew what a brilliant talent he was but it was in this game in 2007 that he announced his arrival. Messi took on the ball on the halfway mark and slalomed past the whole of the Getafe team. He went on to wrong-foot the goalkeeper to score one of the greatest goals ever.
This was just the start of so much more as the Argentine went on to score numerous such goals. His quick feet, body feints, and pinpoint finishes are attributes that made him the legend he is today.
Pep Guardiola on the comparison of Haaland to Messi and Ronaldo 🗣 pic.twitter.com/skY4iHv85k
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 9, 2023
It should be a huge moment for Haaland to be mentioned in the same sentence as Messi and Ronaldo. The Norwegian has already broken many records in his short career in the Premier League.
There will be many more breathtaking goals scored around the world in the future. But it is fair to say that the goals we talked about today, would live forever. The players that scored them would also be celebrated for years to come without a doubt.