Pep Guardiola Drops Hilarious Lionel Messi Reference As Erling Haaland Bags Another Hat Trick

• Pep Guardiola used a hilarious reference to explain Erling Haaland's substitution against Burnley
• Haaland scored another hat trick and was taken off right after the hour mark
• It is the second successive time that he has scored three or more goals and taken off after 60 minutes

Apart from being a top and successful head coach, Pep Guardiola has often shown his hilarious side during games and in press conferences.

He displayed his witty nature at the end of Manchester City's FA quarterfinal Cup clash against Burnley at the Etihad Stadium on March 18th.

Guardiola taught his former player Vincent Kompany a harsh lesson as the Clarets shipped in six goals. The star of the show was once again Erling Haaland, who scored another hat trick.

It was his sixth hat trick of the campaign, which took his tally to 42 goals in all competitions in his maiden season in England. On Tuesday, the Norwegian scored five goals against RB Leipzig as Manchester City qualified for the Champions League Last 8.

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Sports Brief reported that Haaland was withdrawn after the hour mark to a standing ovation from the Etihad Stadium faithful and his manager, who congratulated him.

He became only the third player in history to score five times in a single Champions League game after Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano. He was intent of breaking this record by scoring a sixth goal. Guardiola was accused by fans of trying to protect Messi's record - a player that he has always praised.

Messi's 'record' in FA Cup

The script kind of repeated itself against Burnley, with Guardiola substituting Haaland just after the hour mark. Asked why he did so, the Spanish Head Coach hilariously replied:

"He did it. It's incredible. I made a substitution to him at three goals to not break the record Messi has in the FA Cup. I try to punish my players – it is my intention," as quoted by 90 Min.

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The humour in the statement was clear. Messi has never played in the FA Cup after spending nearly the whole of his career in Spain before moving to France.

Guardiola will be hoping his main striker can remain fit when the players head out for international duty. They play Liverpool at the Etihad in a season-defining fixture once league action resumes in April.