Pep Guardiola bemoaned Manchester City's lack of precision as they were held to a 1-1 Premier League draw by Aston Villa on Saturday.

City looked to be heading to the top of the table when Erling Haaland prodded home from close range five minutes into the second half.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker has now scored 10 goals in his first six Premier League games – the joint-fastest a player has reached that total, along with Mick Quinn in December 1992.

He is also just the fifth player to score in each of their first three away appearances in the Premier League, after Peter Beardsley, Jurgen Klinsmann, Francesco Baiano and Alen Boksic.

However, Leon Bailey's first Premier League goal since September 2021 ensured the spoils were shared, as the Jamaica international powered home with 16 minutes remaining.

City squandered a host of opportunities to extend their advantage after Haaland's opener, leaving Guardiola to rue his side's sloppiness.

"It was a good game. We conceded just one goal from one shot on target in 90 minutes," he told Sky Sports.

"We were not precise in our final third touches and our simple things, especially in the first half. We had chances to score a second when the game was in our hands, but we didn't.

"We were better after the goal, but we were just not precise enough in the crosses; we missed a few situations and that's why we could not score.

"They [Villa] defended well, they are well organised and physical. We created enough chances to score goals and we defended well apart from one action."

Villa now have four points from their first six Premier League games of the season (W1 D1 L4), their joint-lowest total at this stage in the competition, along with 2015-16 and 2019-20.

Boss Steven Gerrard, though, believes his side's display can act as a turning point in their season.

"We've been close to that performance but the moments have gone against us, they have been kinder to us today but that's got to be the start of us," he said. "We have to use this and grow our results.

"I'm proud; the players have come together today. They put an incredible amount of effort into the game and followed instructions.

"City are always going to have moments and we had to ride our luck. This is what we wanted out of the game and this is the game plan we gave them.

"We praised the players after the first half for out of possession stuff, but said we need to be more aggressive on the regain and believe in ourselves more. Our players didn't sink after City scored and I was really happy with the response and the body language."

Manchester City dropped points for the second time this season in the Premier League as Leon Bailey cancelled out Erling Haaland's opener to earn a 1-1 draw for Aston Villa.

Pep Guardiola's side failed to have a shot on target in the first half, yet they went ahead five minutes after the interval when Haaland prodded home from close range for his 10th goal of the season.

City were made to pay for a host of missed chances after that as Bailey rifled in with 16 minutes remaining to send Villa Park wild, delighting under-pressure home boss Steven Gerrard.

The second-placed champions moved to a point adrift of leaders Arsenal, who face a test against improving Manchester United on Sunday, while Villa climbed to 17th spot.

City started in typically dominant mood, with Kyle Walker blazing over and Kevin De Bruyne lashing wide inside the opening 10 minutes.

Villa withstood that early pressure, though, and almost took the lead in the 38th minute when Ollie Watkins' effort was deflected narrowly wide by John Stones.

City went ahead in the 50th minute with their first shot on target, Haaland stealing in at the back post to convert De Bruyne's looping cross.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker almost had a second shortly after the hour mark, yet his instinctive effort was kept out by the legs of Emiliano Martinez.

De Bruyne then clipped the top of the crossbar with a free-kick from 20 yards, before Martinez again denied Haaland.

Villa snatched a point on a rare foray forward as Bailey whipped home from 15 yards after being picked out by Jacob Ramsey.

The Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga may not be finished, with new reports he has agreed to terms on a move to Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Ronaldo, 37, has come off the bench in each of Manchester United's last three wins on the trot, with his only start of the season coming in the 4-0 loss at Brentford.

With the transfer window shut in England, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and most of Europe's top leagues, it seemed like Ronaldo was destined to remain with United until at least January – but the Turkish window remains open until September 8.

TOP STORY – RONALDO STILL WANTS OUT OF OLD TRAFFORD, AGREES TO FENERBAHCE MOVE

Turkish Super Lig outfit Fenerbahce could be set for a massive influx of star power after Ajansspor reported Ronaldo has been convinced by the club's Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus to make the jump.

No team in the Super Lig has scored more than Fenerbahce's 13 goals in four games this season, and more firepower could be on the way as club president Ali Koc is reportedly on board with the move, with just last details required to finalise things.

Koc has experience with high-profile signings, having convinced Ronaldo's former Real Madrid team-mate Mesut Ozil to sign last season, collecting eight goals and two assists in 22 league matches before opting to remain in the Super Lig for another campaign, moving to Istanbul Basaksehir.

ROUND-UP

– Marca is reporting Paris Saint-Germain offered Manchester City the chance to sign Neymar as the deadline approached, but they declined.

– According to The Athletic, Tottenham had serious interest in Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, but could not thrash out a deal.

– The Manchester Evening News claims the United board vetoed a move for Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech.

– Ajansspor is reporting Fenerbahce are working on a transfer for Leicester City's Turkish centre-back Caglar Soyuncu.

– Leicester City still have interest in adding another centre-back, with 27-year-old free agent and Belgian international Jason Denayer their main focus, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has played down the rising expectations on Erling Haaland, citing the post-match reaction to the forward's scoreless debut in the Community Shield against Liverpool.

All eyes were upon the Norwegian in the season opener against Jurgen Klopp's side but Haaland struck a blank, missing a number of opportunities, and it was instead Liverpool's big-money recruit Darwin Nunez who stole the headlines.

The situation has shifted significantly since the start of the Premier League campaign though, with Haaland setting a record by hitting nine goals in his first five appearances in England's top-tier league.

That includes back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, allowing City to keep up the chase with early pacesetters Arsenal at the summit of the table.

Expectation upon Haaland has risen as a result, with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher backing him to be one of the best players the Premier League has ever seen despite just being a month into the season.

Asked about those predictions, Guardiola stated he was not able to peer into the future and spoke about his delight at how quickly his new additions have settled.

"I admire all the people that can anticipate what is going to happen in the future, I'm not able to do it," he said in Friday's press conference.

"One month ago it was a disaster because of the Community Shield, now he's going to break absolutely everything. I'm not able to anticipate absolutely everything that is going to happen.

"I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, so to imagine what is going to happen in one, two, three years? We are delighted because he has settled well, not just Erling but all the new players.

"First and foremost, the backroom staff especially, it's so important how they help to adapt, to settle quickly with the new players. It's really good and that's why it is easy, that's why it is the most important thing."

Haaland is not the only new face in City's attack to catch the eye, with Julian Alvarez also impressing in his early appearances, netting a brace in the midweek demolition of Forest, and Guardiola heaped praise upon the Argentine.

"We are more than delighted that the club bought these two fantastic strikers, we're very pleased with Julian," he added.

"He scored one with his right, one with his left foot, both finishes were amazing. The work ethic, it's really good, really good that we have the two of them and in many games they will play together, that's for sure."

Erling Haaland could become the greatest player in Premier League history after making an astonishing start to his Manchester City career, according to Jamie Carragher.

Haaland has been in electrifying form for Pep Guardiola's champions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund, hitting nine goals in his first five league appearances for City.

That haul is the best managed by any player in their first five Premier League outings, and the towering Norwegian became the first player since Harry Kane in December 2017 to score back-to-back hat-tricks in the competition against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

The City striker has averaged a goal every 43 minutes of league action this season, and Carragher believes Premier League fans are witnessing something special.

"I'd probably say Man City have had a really good window, with the players they've brought in," he told Sky Sports.

"They lost a lot of attacking players, but you look at Haaland… [Julian] Alvarez's start already, he looks [to have] real quality.

"Haaland's the one that jumps out at you, he just looks absolutely amazing.

"We know we've got a great player in the league, but I think we've got something really, really, special, where when he's finished his time at Man City or in the Premier League, we'll be taking about him alongside Thierry Henry.

"I think this lad could end up being the best player we've seen in the Premier League, I really do. He's that special and he's made a brilliant start." 

Should Haaland find the net when City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, he would become just the fifth player to score in his first three away Premier League games (after Peter Beardsley, Jurgen Klinsmann, Francesco Baiano and Alen Boksic).

Given the 22-year-old's incredible form, he will likely also have his eye on becoming the first player in the competition's history to score a hat-trick in three consecutive appearances.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another former Dortmund striker to have made a Premier League move, reuniting with former BVB boss Thomas Tuchel by swapping Barcelona for Chelsea.

While the 33-year-old's time at Arsenal ended in acrimonious fashion in January, Carragher believes his arrival represents a welcome boost for Chelsea.

"He's a quality player, there's no doubt about that, and I think it's a good signing," he said.

"People may question Arsenal's role for this, the fact they've let him go for free and Chelsea are paying money for him [less than] 12 months later.

"I think it's a good signing for Chelsea, but I also think it was the right decision for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, look where they are right now.

"Aubameyang, we know what he brings, goals and quality. Thomas Tuchel knows him, he's worked with him at Borussia Dortmund as well, and as a neutral, I'm delighted he's in the Premier League. He's a brilliant player."

With matchday six just around the corner, fresh off the first midweek Premier League fixtures of the season, now is when things can start to get tricky.

Some regular starters will likely be rested, and some new faces could emerge and force their way into the calculations going forward.

In a sink-or-swim week, it will be important to focus on players considered too important to their respective side to leave out – but who are those players?

Using Opta data, Stats Perform is here to help, with four suggestions of players that are in form that is impossible to ignore.

David Raya (Brentford v Leeds United)

Brentford's David Raya produced one of the more unlikely goalkeeping performances of the season in his side's 4-0 win over Manchester United – although maybe it should not have been unexpected.

The Spain international has only the one clean sheet to his name this season, but he ranks second in saves-per-90-minutes, and since the start of last season, he ranks second in save percentage.

Only Jose Sa (75.7 save percentage) has a higher save percentage than Raya's 74.2, and only Dean Henderson (five saves per 90 minutes) stops more shots per game this campaign than Raya's 4.4.

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City v Aston Villa)

Manchester City's Portuguese full-back has established himself as one of the most reliable fantasy picks as a crucial part of one of the Premier League's best defences, while also proving to be a consistent source of goals.

Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Cancelo ranks fourth out of all defenders for goal involvements with two goals and seven assists, while only Virgil van Dijk (22) is credited with more clean sheets than Cancelo's 21.

He gets a friendly matchup against Aston Villa as well, who this season have scored four goals and conceded nine from their five matches, placing them in the bottom-five in both categories.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal v Manchester United)

Arsenal are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season since 2003-04, with five wins from five matches, and 20-year-old winger Bukayo Saka is a big reason they are such a threat going forward.

Among Arsenal players, Saka ranks second in both assists (two) and chances created (10) – and it is no product of a small sample size.

Since the beginning of last season, only Kevin de Bruyne (102), Mohamed Salah (84) and Son Heung-min (80) have created more chances than Saka (78) – with a gap back to Mason Mount in fifth (66).

Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham v Tottenham)

It should never be a surprise to see Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring goals, but to be going at a goal-per-game in a newly promoted side is evidence of the special talent the Serbian possesses.

Only Erling Haaland has more goals than Mitrovic's five so far, and he is tied with the Norwegian for the Premier League lead in both shots (22) and shots on target (12).

Mitrovic's hot start follows his Golden Boot win in the Championship last season, where he netted 43 goals in 44 appearances. Out of England's top four leagues, Mitrovic is 19 goals clear of any other player since the start of that campaign.

The transfer window has been gently eased shut, and there were plenty of last-minute deals to keep fans across Europe captivated.

Southampton were busy, adding Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Duje Caleta-Car to their ranks, among others, while Barcelona allowed Martin Braithwaite to join Espanyol on a free transfer and sold Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea.

As the seconds ticked down, clubs dotted their i's, crossed their t's and blew the dust off their fax machines, and here is just some of what took place in the closing hours.

Busy Saints bring in four, lose one

As far as the Premier League goes, it was Southampton who got up to the most activity in the final moments, signing Maitland-Niles on loan from Arsenal and Caleta-Car permanently from Marseille on a four-year deal, as well as adding two Manchester City youngsters in Juan Larios and Sam Edozie. They let defender Yan Valery to Ligue 1 side Angers.

Brighton and Hove Albion completed the signing of Billy Gilmour from Chelsea and released Romanian striker Florin Andone, while Chelsea let Ethan Ampadu join Serie A side Spezia on loan and finally allowed Kenedy to depart Stamford Bridge after seven years to join Real Valladolid in LaLiga.

Carlos Vinicius returned to the Premier League after a loan spell with Tottenham in 2020-21, having joined Fulham from Benfica on a permanent deal. The Cottagers also completed a loan deal for Leeds United winger Daniel James.

The Whites were frustrated in their attempts to sign Bamba Dieng from Marseille, but instead clinched a deal for Italian youngster Wilfried Gnonto from FC Zurich for an undisclosed fee.

Nottingham Forest added signings number 20 and 21 of the window in Josh Bowler from Blackpool and Loic Bade from Rennes, with free agent Serge Aurier potentially making it 22, though a reported late move for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi failed to materialise.

Jan Bednarek had been linked with a move to West Ham earlier in the day but ended up leaving Southampton on loan to another team in claret and blue as Aston Villa brought in the Polish defender.

Brooks was here, now he's in Lisbon

On the continent, Benfica completed the signing of American defender John Brooks from Wolfsburg, while Maxi Gomez left Valencia for Turkish side Trabzonspor.

Los Che brought in a replacement for Gomez in Justin Kluivert on loan from Roma after his move to Fulham fell through due to work permit issues.

In France, highly rated forward Amine Gouiri swapped Nice for Rennes in a reported club-record fee apparently worth €28million, while Lille secured a loan deal for Everton midfielder Andre Gomes.

As well as signing Aubameyang and Hector Bellerin and losing Braithwaite, Barcelona also said goodbye on a temporary basis to Ez Abde, who joined Osasuna on loan.

Manchester United and Manchester City got deals over the line early on deadline day – but there was plenty of time still to go before the transfer market closed.

The Premier League north-west giants strengthened, with United sealing the big-money signing of Ajax winger Antony and City adding another asset in Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund.

Many others were looking to do business in the market before time ran out.

Premier League teams race to wrap up big deals

As well as Antony moving to United for a fee thought to be around £81.3million (€95m), and Akanji fortifying City's defensive ranks, a host of their English rivals were also pushing to bring in new faces.

Liverpool looked set to bring in Brazil midfielder Arthur from Juventus on loan for the season.

With Wesley Fofana having made the leap to Chelsea, Leicester City found a replacement in Belgian defender Wout Faes who arrived from Reims on a five-year deal.

That will be a move that sets the Foxes back around £15million, but manager Brendan Rodgers will hope the 24-year-old can help to revive their struggling season.

Southampton had been pursuing a move for PSV Eindhoven's Cody Gakpo, but while their approach has been reportedly rebuffed, Saints have parted company with Oriol Romeu.

The Spaniard returns home to LaLiga, joining Girona for an undisclosed fee after seven years at St Mary's.

European markets busy in early trading

Barcelona were expected to be busy later in the day, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looking set to join Chelsea and Martin Braithwaite reportedly close to signing for Espanyol.

Sevilla secured a loan move for Kasper Dolberg from Nice, with the Denmark forward looking to secure his place in the national squad ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. That followed Sevilla loaning Lucas Ocampos to Ajax on Wednesday, and the LaLiga side signing free agent Adnan Januzaj.

Ligue 1 side Troyes announced the signing of Manchester City's Colombian forward Marlos Moreno on a two-year deal.

Manchester City have completed the signing of defender Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £15.1million (€17.4m)

The Switzerland international has put pen to paper on a five-year deal for the Premier League champions, and will wear the number 25 shirt at the Etihad Stadium.

Akanji will provide further competition for a place in the heart of Pep Guardiola's defence, with Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake injured.

The 27-year-old, who was into the final year of his contract at Signal Iduna Park, is the second player to swap Dortmund for City during this window after Erling Haaland, alongside whom he won the German Cup in 2021.

Akanji played 158 times for BVB across all competitions after arriving from Basel in 2018, scoring four goals, but had not appeared under new head coach Edin Terzic at the start of this season.

"I am delighted to be here, and can’t wait to get started," Akanji told the club's official website. "City have been one of the best teams in Europe over the last few seasons.

"They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career.  

"Pep Guardiola is an exceptional manager, and this is an exceptional squad of players, so this is an exciting opportunity for me. 

"I am really looking forward to testing myself in the Premier League and I will do everything I can to help this club be successful."

Akanji could make his City debut on Saturday when Guardiola's men travel to struggling Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Manchester City have completed the signing of defender Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £15.1million (€17.4m)

The Switzerland international has put pen to paper on a five-year deal for the Premier League champions, and will wear the number 25 shirt at the Etihad Stadium.

Akanji will provide further competition for a place in the heart of Pep Guardiola's defence, with Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake injured.

The 27-year-old, who was into the final year of his contract at Signal Iduna Park, is the second player to swap Dortmund for City during this window after Erling Haaland, alongside whom he won the German Cup in 2021.

Akanji played 158 times for BVB across all competitions after arriving from Basel in 2018, scoring four goals, but had not appeared under new head coach Edin Terzic at the start of this season.

"I am delighted to be here, and can’t wait to get started," Akanji told the club's official website. "City have been one of the best teams in Europe over the last few seasons.

"They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career.  

"Pep Guardiola is an exceptional manager, and this is an exceptional squad of players, so this is an exciting opportunity for me. 

"I am really looking forward to testing myself in the Premier League and I will do everything I can to help this club be successful."

Akanji could make his City debut on Saturday when Guardiola's men travel to struggling Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Bernardo Silva has declared he will be "staying in Manchester", putting an end to rumours the Manchester City midfielder would be moving to Barcelona.

Silva has been an integral part of City's success under Pep Guardiola since arriving from Monaco in 2017.

The Portugal international has won four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup in England, though has been heavily linked with Barca in the past couple of years.

Despite seeming to indicate he would like to play for the LaLiga giants one day, Silva has confirmed he will not be making the move in this transfer window, which closes on Thursday.

After grabbing an assist in Wednesday's 6-0 thrashing by City of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, the 28-year-old committed to his team, telling Spanish outlet RAC1: "I'm staying in Manchester, here. I'm happy and the decision has been made."

Silva has scored two goals in five league appearances so far this season for City, with three starts.

His goal in the 4-2 comeback win against Crystal Palace on Saturday was his 100th goal involvement for the club, with an even split of 50 goals and 50 assists, which became 101 on Wednesday in his 257th appearance with his assist for Joao Cancelo.

Erling Haaland continued his incredible start to life in the Premier League with a record-setting treble in Manchester City's 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.

The Norway international made it two hat-tricks in the space of five days – and a perfect one at that, with his right foot, left foot and head – in City's latest statement victory.

Meanwhile, Liverpool left it late to see off Newcastle United 2-1 at Anfield.

There were goals and drama elsewhere on Wednesday, too, and Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data.

Manchester City 6-0 Nottingham Forest: Haaland makes history

Haaland now has nine goals in five Premier League games since joining City from Borussia Dortmund – the best start of any player in the competition's history at this stage.

He surpassed the record of eight goals previously held by Micky Quinn and City great Sergio Aguero, the man he is effectively replacing at the Etihad Stadium.

The prolific striker is just the seventh player to score a hat-trick in back-to-back games in the competition and the first since Harry Kane did so for Tottenham in December 2017.

Fellow newbie Julian Alvarez also scored twice, while Joao Cancelo netted the other as City bagged five or more goals in a league game for the 32nd time under Pep Guardiola.

That accounts for 14 per cent of City's games under the Catalan coach in the competition, with that tally more than twice as many as any other side over that period (Liverpool, 15).

The only side to have exceeded the 18 goals City have scored after five games of a Premier League season were Manchester United, who had 21 to their name at this stage 11 years ago.

Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle United: Carvalho the late hero

Newcastle led with an hour played at Anfield, only for Roberto Firmino to level and Fabio Carvalho to fire home in the 98th minute to snatch all three points for Liverpool.

That was the 40th winning Premier League goal scored by Liverpool in the 90th minute or later – the most of any side – with three of those coming in this fixture.

Timed at 97 minutes and nine seconds, it was Liverpool's latest goal in the top flight since Dirk Kuyt's penalty against Arsenal in April 2011 (101:48).

Alexander Isak had earlier given Newcastle the lead with a debut goal, making him the sixth Swedish player to net on his Premier League bow.

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa: Martinelli keeps Gunners perfect

Arsenal dug deep to overcome Villa and make it five wins in a row to begin a league campaign for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when they went on to finish second.

Gabriel Jesus steered Arsenal ahead for his sixth goal involvement in his first five Premier League outings for the club, breaking Mesut Ozil's previous record of five.

Douglas Luiz equalised directly from a corner, but Arsenal hit back just 151 seconds later through Gabriel Martinelli, who converted Bukayo Saka's cross.

That was Saka's 17th Premier League assist – only Cesc Fabregas (38), Wayne Rooney (22) and Michael Owen (18) had more before turning 21.

West Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Soucek denies Spurs

Tottenham could not see out a lead at London Stadium as they were denied the chance to make their best start to a Premier League season after five games.

Thilo Kehrer turned a Harry Kane delivery into his own net, with that a league-high seventh own goal scored by West Ham since the start of the 2020-21 season.

Tomas Soucek levelled for West Ham with his 19th Premier League goal, each of those coming from inside the 18-yard box.

That strike was assisted by Michail Antonio on his 200th league appearance for West Ham, whose tally of two goals after five games is their fewest since 1994-95 (one).

While Spurs could not hold on for the win, they are unbeaten after five games in the competition for only the third time, having previously done so in 2004-05 and 2016-17.

Pep Guardiola labelled Erling Haaland a "special talent" after the striker scored a perfect first-half hat-trick in Manchester City's 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

Haaland, who is averaging a goal every 43 minutes since arriving in the Premier League, has now made the most prolific start to a career in the competition on record.

His third goal against Forest, scored with a close-range header after 38 minutes, was his ninth in five Premier League outings, bettering the eight-goal hauls managed by Sergio Aguero and Micky Quinn through their first five appearances in the competition.

Haaland needed just 16 touches to score his treble, and Guardiola is delighted to see the striker sending records tumbling so early in his Premier League career.

"I know he is happy and scoring goals, but I think what he wants is to win," Guardiola told BT Sport.

"The records are okay, if you withdraw the records and he cannot score goals, we cannot win some games. I'm pretty sure he would not like it. 

"He's a special talent, he has an incredible sense of goals. He didn't touch one ball and his first touch is a goal, so... he is Erling.

"He's strong in all departments but especially in that sense, he smells in the box unlike anyone else and his finishing is so good.

"His work ethic as well is great. We are delighted about the way he has done it."

Haaland was not the only recent City arrival to make headlines on Wednesday, as Julian Alvarez marked his first Premier League start with a second-half brace.

And Guardiola says everyone at City will be proud of his contribution, adding: "He is new, he came from another continent. We see him every day, all of us. The work ethic and being a nice guy always pays off.

"There's not one person in the locker room, there's not one person in the backroom staff that is not happy for his two goals, for the incredible effort he has done."

Meanwhile, City's dominant display saw them maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League season, and they have now scored 14 goals through their first three home games of the campaign.

While a 3-3 draw at Newcastle United means the champions have not opened the season in perfect fashion, Guardiola is satisfied by the levels shown by City thus far. 

"I think we've played really well all season so far. We conceded transitions against Newcastle and could not control [Allan] Saint-Maximin but apart from that, our level in all the games was high."

Erling Haaland described his start to life in the Premier League as "amazing" after hitting his second consecutive hat-trick to make history in Manchester City's 6-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest.

Haaland – who scored a match-winning treble against Crystal Palace on Saturday – needed just 38 minutes to clinch a perfect hat-trick as Forest wilted on Wednesday, taking him to nine goals in his first five Premier League outings.

That tally represents a new competition record, bettering the eight-goal hauls managed by Sergio Aguero and Micky Quinn at the start of their Premier League careers.

City, meanwhile, have scored 18 goals across their opening five matches, the highest tally in their league history. The last side to exceed 18 goals after five matches at the start of a Premier League season was Manchester United in 2011-12 (21 goals).

Haaland has scored at the remarkable rate of a goal every 43 minutes since arriving at the Etihad Stadium, and is the first player to score hat-tricks in back-to-back Premier League games since Harry Kane in December 2017.

Speaking to BT Sport after the dominant win, Haaland said: "It's amazing. Nothing more to say. It's been good so far, I'm not complaining!

"It was about making sure we kept doing what we did in the second half against Palace, and just to play, play, play, play and play. We knew there was going to be chances, and it was nice.

"I try to listen as much as I can to Pep and to play with the boys because they're amazing footballers and without them, I would not be able to score goals.

"So it's about finding chemistry, playing together, and listening to Pep [Guardiola].

"It's fantastic, that's why I came here. You can see we play so good, we find each other and we will become even better, so it's going to be nice.

"It's important to keep going, it's going to be a lot of games so it's important to keep going and to enjoy as much as we can."

While Haaland stole the show with his remarkable display of finishing, fellow City striker Julian Alvarez also enjoyed a landmark outing, scoring two goals on his first Premier League start.

Alvarez is the seventh Argentinian to score on his first Premier League start, and the first to do so more than once, and is targeting more than a bit-part role in Guardiola's side.

Speaking to the BBC, Alvarez stated his belief he could form an effective partnership with Haaland, saying: "Obviously I'm very happy for the team performance, and for my two goals, and getting that reception from all the fans.

"I think it's not me or Erling, we can play together in the starting eleven. We fit together, which is good for the team.

"Some things are similar from Argentina, like the ball pressing, but the Premier League is faster, I have to adapt to that. My team-mates help me and I am super grateful for that."

Erling Haaland scored a perfect hat-trick inside 38 minutes to make history as Manchester City crushed Nottingham Forest 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Having put City 2-0 up with two early close-range finishes, Haaland converted from John Stones' header to make it nine goals in his first five Premier League matches – a new competition record. 

Joao Cancelo then extended City's lead further with a fine long-range effort, before Julian Alvarez opened his Premier League account with two more goals on his first start.

The dominant win ensured Pep Guardiola's side maintained their unbeaten start to the new season and laid down an ominous marker to any would-be challengers, with the champions now fully up to speed.

Dean Henderson made a reflex save to deny Alvarez six minutes in, but he was rooted to the spot when Haaland poked Phil Foden's deflected cross inside the near post to hand City a 12th-minute lead.

Renan Lodi headed into the side netting when left unmarked five minutes later, and the visitors were made to pay for that miss when Haaland played a fine give-and-go with Foden before rolling into an empty net.

The Norwegian then made it nine goals for the campaign to kill the contest as the break approached, taking advantage of some dire Forest defending to head home on the goal-line following a deep free-kick.

City picked up where they left off after half-time as Cancelo rifled into the top-left corner from the edge of the area, before Alvarez marked his first Premier League start with a goal by finishing low across Henderson when one-on-one.

Haaland was substituted to a standing ovation before Alvarez added his second late on, bringing down a loose ball before volleying into the top-left corner to add further gloss to the scoreline.