Erling Haaland Offers Refreshingly Candid Interview Following Fulham Victory Discussing Controversial Goal

Erling Haaland once again took the spotlight for Manchester City this weekend, delivering a hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The reigning champions maintained their flawless Premier League record, comfortably dispatching Fulham in a resounding 5-1 victory.

Despite the considerable gap in the scoreline, Haaland didn’t shy away from addressing the controversy surrounding City’s second goal of the match. This contentious moment involved Bernd Leno’s judgment being influenced by Manuel Akanji’s offside presence during Nathan Ake’s powerful header.

VAR officials ruled that Akanji was not offside, but Haaland candidly shared his agreement with the aggrieved Fulham, stating in his post-match interview, “Yeah, I think it was offside as well; I feel bad for them [Fulham], I would be fuming after this as well; it’s how it is; must be a horrible feeling for them.”

Although the final score reflected City’s dominance, the initial 30 minutes of the match were tightly contested, with City struggling to breach Fulham’s sturdy defense. Ultimately, it was the disparity in quality that separated the two teams when the final whistle blew.

Haaland continued his post-match interview by emphasizing that, despite their flawless start to the season, there is a “much higher level” for the Sky Blues to attain throughout the campaign. He explained, “Last year was also difficult to start, but we have been picking up more points for now, and in the end, it has been a perfect start because we win four games, but we have a much higher level, and it is about working towards that.”

Pep Guardiola’s absence from the Manchester City touchline was noticeable once again, as the Catalan manager is currently recovering from a recent back operation. Assistant coach Juan Manuel Lillo has been stepping in to manage the team in his absence.

When asked about the challenges of not having Guardiola present on a daily basis during training and on match days, Haaland displayed the mentality of a champion in his response, stating, “Of course, it’s a bit different not to have your main boss there, but the principle is the same, and we are working towards the same thing with or without him. We can still have phone calls with him, have him on Zoom, and everything. So, of course, it is a bit different, but we still know what to do.”