As the home of the HERO Dubai Desert Classic celebrates 35 glorious years it stirs up nostalgic memories of how the venue sparked Dubai's rise as the region's sports capital
Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland could etch his name alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi among the game's greatest strikers with his "ridiculous" scoring numbers.
Haaland bagged a hat trick in Manchester City's 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday, the 10th for the Premier League club.
"The numbers are ridiculous," Guardiola told reporters. "He can compete in terms of goals with Cristiano and Messi. The numbers are unbelievable at his age. He's an incredible threat, hopefully he can be here for many years."
Two games into the season and the 24-year-old Haaland has four goals in what could well be a third consecutive Golden Boot campaign. His overall record at the club is 94 goals in 101 appearances.
The battering ram of a forward, who missed nearly two months last season with a foot injury, benefited from a restful summer after Norway failed to qualify for Euro 2024.
"I said a few weeks ago, he feels better than previous seasons," Guardiola said. "This season, no Euros, relax and arrive well.
"Last season he struggled a lot, especially at the beginning. He felt tired and niggles most of the time. This time, with the rest with no Euros, he has arrived with a good vibe."
Haaland recently said he felt better than ever.
"I don't have any pain in my body which is the first time for a long time," he said. "It's amazing -- you can push yourself more because you don't have something in the back of your head. I had a long pre-season, I enjoyed it."
Neither Kyle Walker nor Phil Foden featured in Saturday's win at Etihad Stadium since they were late to rejoin Guardiola's squad after playing for England in the Euro final. Key midfielder Rodri is not fully fit after suffering an injury in playing in that final for Spain.
ALSO READ:
As the home of the HERO Dubai Desert Classic celebrates 35 glorious years it stirs up nostalgic memories of how the venue sparked Dubai's rise as the region's sports capital
I’m continuing with my DP World Tour membership and plan to play in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates says the Polish player
Huge Week for LIV Golf in Chicago while the DP World Tour hosts one of its flagship events – the $6 million Amgen Irish Open
The extensive calendar will include a mix of Emirates PGA Pro-Ams with 18-hole Individual Strokeplay events
The new International & National Amateur Golf Championships will bring together UAE National golfers and amateurs from the Asia-Pacific and Arab Golf Federations
Their haul of 22 gold medals and 82 overall in Paris is even more impressive given the death and destruction since Russia invaded in February 2022
India won 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, the most by the country in the history of the competition
Rice symbolised the freedom provided by 'Carsball' as he was allowed to advance far further forward than at the Euros