Erling Haaland and his Manchester City teammates enjoyed themselves as they trained for their Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.
City face Bundesliga high-fliers Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday and will be aiming to advance to the quarter-finals for a sixth straight season.
City were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, but are fancied to progress at their Etihad Stadium home.
The focus once again will be on City's Norwegian star Haaland. He has already scored 28 times in the Premier League and 34 goals in all competitions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in May.
Haaland remains on course to break the Premier League goal record for a single campaign, but there are still some who believe Guardiola needs to get more out of him.
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Manchester City's Nathan Ake is surrounded by his teammates during a training session at the City Football Academy on Monday, March 13, 2023. PA -
From left: Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland during training ahead of their Champions League round of 16 second-leg against RB Leipzig. AFP -
Manchester City's Erling Haaland and teammates during a training session at the City Football Academy. PA -
From left: Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan during training on Monday. AFP -
Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne during training. Reuters -
Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne train on Monday. Reuters -
Manchester City's Erling Haaland trains for the Champions League last-16 clash. Reuters -
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola oversees training. Reuters -
Goalkeeper Ederson takes part in training. AFP -
Manchester City's Erling Haaland during training. Reuters -
Manchester City's Rodri during training. Reuters
With City trailing five points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, the Champions League assumes greater significance for Guardiola's team this season.
Haaland scored the penalty winner at Crystal Palace on Saturday to reach 34 goals in all competitions this season. But there are still critics of Haaland's lack of involvement in City's build-up play and Guardiola believes the Norway striker can improve that side of his game.
“I don't like one player just to be in the box to score goals. Of course that is important, it is the main thing, but it is not all we need of him,” Guardiola said.
“When we are away from the opponent's box he cannot score a goal. We need him to be involved and to be active. He has improved a little bit but on this he can do better.”
