"You have to do something if you are a smaller player" - Paul Scholes explains what Manchester United should have done differently to stop Erling Haaland 

Paul Scholes believes Manchester United should have tried different ways to stop Erling Haaland in Sunday's (October 2) Manchester derby.

The Norwegian netted his third Premier League hat-trick in eight games following his breathtaking display for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Haaland headed home from a corner before stretching to get onto the end of Kevin De Bruyne's inch-perfect pass to help the hosts go into half-time 4-0 up.

The Norwegian international fired home a fierce first-time strike to secure his hat-trick and leave United devastated as they were condemned to a 6-3 defeat. Haaland's performance once again grabbed all the headlines but Scholes believes the Red Devils could have done more to stop the forward.

The Manchester United legend told Premier League Productions (as per The Manchester Evening News):

"He is virtually impossible to stop, but you have got to try and find a way. But as a Manchester United defender, in those situations, you can't always match up against these big players; you have to do something different if you are a smaller player."

"You have got to do something to try and stop him, even if it was just trying to stop a run. They just weren't streetwise enough and he was so easy to play against, meaning it ended up being an embarrassing performance, first half especially."

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Pep Guardiola hails Haaland's 'incredible insticts' following hat-trick against Manchester United

Since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund, Haaland has netted 17 goals in 11 games to have an impact that English football has rarely seen. Following the game, Guardiola was full of praise for the forward. The Spanish boss told Manchester City's official website:

"I say it many times and I will say again, what Erling is doing he did in Norway, Austria and Germany. The quality we have alongside him helps him score but what he is doing, I didn't teach him. He has incredible instincts. It comes from his mum and dad. He was born with that.”

Guardiola added:

“I have had incredible centre-forwards in my career. What I like was in the last period of the game, he was involved. I want him to be involved. He became a player to score goals but I want him in contact with the ball. I like him being part of those situations. But of course, he has to put the ball in the net, and he is a fantastic striker.”