Erling Haaland pushes away the Sky Sports camera. Photo: Reuters/Carl Recine
Erling Haaland expressed his dissatisfaction with the cameraman as he Manchester City's title hopes suffered a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Rodri's equalizer gave the defending champions a point after they went down to a first-half goal from their former striker Raheem Sterling. But City missed plenty of chances: they had 32 shots to Chelsea's nine, and Haaland was responsible for some of the worst misses.
That frustration was evident after the final whistle when he pushed out the Sky TV cameraman. paths as they attempted to film the post-match close-up. Sky showed the incident on its social networks, trying to ignore the record holder's push.
Erling Haaland is NOT happy 😳 pic.twitter .com/8uu6QAVAOA
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 17, 2024
But it could have been much worse had Rodri not turned up to maintain City's record of going unbeaten at the Etihad since November 2022. The Spaniard, who has not lost a game in City colors since losing to Spurs on February 5, 2023, felt his side lacked courage in defeat.
“We weren't good in the first half. We conceded another easy goal,” he said. “We need to defend better. They created almost nothing in the first half. We knew about their counter-attacks and fast players, but we need to defend better against counter-attacks. It's always harder to come back from here.
“We tried hard in the second half. [We had more] spirit, we wanted the ball and we wanted to take risks. We were a little afraid of the counterattack [in the first half]. You have to be brave.”
City were forced to count the cost of their misses, the worst of which was Haaland's stray header from a free-kick in the 78th minute. But, leading until the 83rd minute, Chelsea were also disappointed that they could not turn their first-half lead into victory.
“We are a little disappointed because we were winning the game,” the midfielder said Conor Gallagher. .
“They dominated in terms of possession but I feel like we had a lot of chances to win. We are disappointed that we lost late, but we are happy with the result.”
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Erling Haaland introduces a new ice cream brand, but after an evening of disappointment, holiday sweets have been banned.
In a week when the City striker was photographed leading Haaland Cream's campaign in Norway, the sullen movement of the TV camera after the final whistle summed up his gloom when everything went wrong.
An unmarked header over the bar from the penalty area after of Kevin De Bruyne's perfect cross. The Etihad team gasped in disbelief and Pep Guardiola put his head in his hands.
It was the contradictory story of Haaland's unhappy day.
Nine shots — one early in the second half, admittedly very well saved by Djordje Petrovic — and not a single goal.
For xG fans, Haaland set a new record for not scoring a single goal in a Premier League match this season with 1.71. For those who aren't xG fans, he couldn't have hit a barn door with a banjo.
Haaland's profligacy might have cost more had Rodri not pulled a point back for City, but the striker's despondency when he left the field, it was clear that the responsibility he felt for the two points had dropped.
Guardiola would not have cared. for his body language, but it was entirely appropriate under the circumstances.
“We created a lot,” the Manchester City manager said ruefully. “It’s good to have nine shots and next time he’ll score. I don't blame it. This is football. These are people.”
Given Haaland's lack of colour, it looked as if Chelsea would be the team to shut down City and end their 44-game winning streak at the Etihad, until Rodri won't show up to save the day.
Chelsea's defense must take action. credit. Without Thiago Silva, they would have made a brave showing against the champions.
If City had been awarded a stoppage-time penalty for handball on Levi Colville after a desperate late challenge, it would have been the cruelest end to an audacious game at the stadium . road.
The Etihad is where hope usually goes to die for visiting teams, but Colville and 20-year-old Malo Gusto have been outstanding.
It was a performance that was strong both in organization and in spirit, which was not the case. This has always been the case with Chelsea this season.
It is not surprising that their coach Mauricio Pochettino was on fire after this.
It is not surprising that their manager Mauricio Pochettino was glowing after this. p>
“The spirit we showed today was absolutely amazing,” Pochettino said. “One day we will reach the expected level. It's never easy playing against the best team in the world, and the character and personality we showed made me very happy.»
“It was a really important day to show that we are improving. We need games like this.»
Haaland will return to action against Brentford in midweek. Will this give you a hangover?
It's possible, but a more likely turn of events is that Haaland will vent his frustration at the Vikings' revenge on the vulnerable bees.
There is a dam about to break, and someone somewhere is going to prevent this.
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