Pep Guardiola has admitted he is surprised by Erling Haaland’s goalscoring form as Manchester City prepare to begin their Champions League campaign against Inter Milan.

Haaland, who signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, has made a blistering start to the Premier League season with nine goals in four matches – including two hat-tricks.

The 24-year-old’s next goal will be his 100th in a City shirt, having scored 99 times in 103 appearances.

When asked in Tuesday’s pre-match news conference whether even he was surprised by Haaland’s goals record this season, City boss Guardiola replied: “A little bit, yeah.

“I don’t expect him to score three, two goals every game. At the moment it is going to happen.

“I know the quality is there but I think the difference from last season is that he feels good, with no problems.”

Guardiola was full of praise for Inter Milan, the team City beat to win the Champions League in 2023.

“A historic team, an incredible mentality,” said Guardiola. “They are built to win every single game.

“They are created to win competitions. Last year, they won a lot, the mindset of the players was ‘I’m able to do it’ – quite similar to us.”