Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he ranks Erling Haaland “a little bit above” new Liverpool striker Alexander Isak.
Haaland and Isak are widely regarded as two of the best strikers in Europe and will be battling each other for multiple honours and individual awards for many years to come.
Isak is now in direct competition to Haaland when it comes to challenging for the Premier League and Champions League after sealing a British record £125million, potentially rising to £130million, transfer to Liverpool on Deadline Day.
The Swede’s arrival on Merseyside has certainly excited Reds head coach Arne Slot who described the 25-year-old as possibly the best striker in the world when praising Jon Dahl Tomasson’s usage of Liverpool’s signing during the international break.
Slot said: “First of all I think the Swedish manager, Jon Dahl Tomasson, deserves a big, big, big compliment because he gets one of the best, maybe the best striker in the world in and needs to play two very important games for his country, but understands if he would play him twice for 90 minutes the player would have probably been injured for multiple weeks.”
Slot’s comments were put to Guardiola ahead of Man City’s derby showdown against Manchester United and his response to where he ranks Haaland in comparison to Isak was: "A little bit above.”
The Spaniard did go on to praise Isak but said he wouldn’t swap Haaland for any player in the world
He added: “Isak is an exceptional player. You asked me about Erling and he is top.
"Isak must be a top player because of what they paid. Another one would say [Kylian] Mbappe, [Lionel] Messi, Cristiano [Ronaldo], it’s a game of opinions.
“I wouldn’t change Erling for anyone. I know him. I like him."
Haaland and Isak are set to be on opposing sides in November when Man City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad in the first meeting between the two title rivals this season.
