You could practically taste the bitterness from Erling Haaland as he left Monaco. It was perfectly understandable, really. He had done his part, scoring two impressive goals. Still, he couldn’t push Manchester City past a 2-2 draw against the principality’s team.
Football has a cruel way of delivering gut punches. This one arrived very late for the Citizens. The drama unfolded when Nico González’s boot connected sharply with Eric Dier’s face. Dier, who came up through Sporting’s youth system, then stepped up to take the penalty himself. He coolly converted it in the 90th minute, fixing the final score. That 11-meter strike completely overshadowed Haaland’s brilliant brace, scored at the 15th and 44th minutes.
It’s a shame, really. This young man continues to rewrite the record books. The Norwegian goalscorer now boasts 52 goals in just 50 Champions League games. He matched Mohamed Salah’s tally, but Salah needed 100 matches to reach the same number of goals. Haaland didn’t mince words after the final whistle. “I don’t feel good because we didn’t win,” he stated clearly. “We didn’t play well enough; we didn’t deserve to win.” As for the late penalty call, his answer was pure Haaland: “If someone kicks someone in the face… it’s probably a foul.”