'Legend of the game' - Erling Haaland admits he was shocked to see 'funny guy' Neil Warnock at Man City's training ground following meeting with veteran manager

Haaland and Warnock crossed paths when the latter was invited to training by City boss Pep Guardiola. Warnock, per The Sun, spent time chatting with players, and gave Haaland advice ahead of the FA Cup final this weekend, when City take on Crystal Palace, one of the 76-year-old's former employers.

Haaland says he and Warnock bonded over "kick and run" tactics, with the striker agreeing that teams often need to go route one. That will come as something of a surprise given the tactical preferences of Guardiola, but the striker has explained he gets his "old school" views from his father.

Haaland told the BBC: “He’s a really funny guy, a good guy. I’ve watched a lot of English football my whole life so I know he’s a legend of the game.

“I didn’t know he was coming so it was a surprise but I had a good chat with him. He’s got an old school way about him and I’m also a little bit old school because of my father. We had some good discussions.”

Asked what they discussed, he replied: “Sometimes you have to kick and run a little bit.

“That was his tactics in his days and I agree with it — a bit of kick and run.

“We both love football so we talked about that, the period we’ve been in but how we’ve got a good momentum going on now. In other seasons, something has happened to give us some extra energy from somewhere and this is exactly the time it should happen.”

City face Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday. They also continue to fight for Champions League qualification, as they sit fourth, but are just two points clear of sixth-placed Aston Villa. Their last two league games come against Bournemouth and Fulham.