Erling Haaland exclusive: 'I didn't believe my own eyes' - Manchester City star shrugs off missed chances

Erling Haaland has stressed the importance of being "strong mentally" and not dwelling too much on setbacks as he continues to improve as a player.

The Manchester City striker scored a remarkable 52 goals across all competitions in his first season at the Etihad Stadium and has followed that up with 28 so far this campaign.

The Norwegian's enviable goal tally helped City to a historic Treble last term and the team remains on course to repeat this feat with Haaland firing on all fronts in the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup.

Despite leading the scoring charts for his club in the league with 18 to date, Haaland also tops the standings for most big chances missed this season with 26, including an almost unbelievable effort in the Manchester derby win over rivals United.

However, speaking exclusively to TNT Sports ahead of City’s Champions League last 16 second leg clash with Copenhagen on Wednesday, Haaland shrugged off the miss.

“I was thinking, I didn't believe my own eyes,” he confessed.

“But it's going to happen again, I think, in my career. So, what can I say? S*** happens”.

Haaland's relaxed attitude was vindicated by the fact he still went on to score in the match to wrap up a 3-1 derby win for City.

Asked if he has always remained calm when things haven’t gone his way, the forward admitted it was something he has been working on.

“No, I haven't always been like that,” he added. “I struggled a lot when I was younger and also even sometimes now as well.

"It's hard because I demand a lot for myself, and also I know my team-mates demand a lot for me. So, sometimes it's not the easiest thing.

“But it's a mental thing and I think that's a good thing about being strong mentally.

“Yeah, I am [critical of myself], but you have to find a fine balance between a lot of things.”

Haaland missed two months of the campaign with injury yet still leads the way in the Premier League as far as goals are concerned.

The 23-year-old admits this season might not be as glittering as his debut campaign but says continuous focus on his own improvement is what is driving him this time around.

“It's been a bit different,” he says. “I've been struggling a little bit and there, but you can look at in two ways.

“You can look at that one way that last year I scored 36 goals in the Premier League, and you can look in another way that I’m the top scorer of Premier League this season. You can look at in both ways.

“So I'm focusing on myself. I focus on developing, and, yeah, that's what I try to do.”

City take a 3-1 lead into the second leg against Copenhagen at the Etihad.

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