Kalvin Phillips scored his first goal for Manchester City against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League – and Erling Haaland was among the first to react on social media.
City were already through to the knockout stages of the competition as group winners, but finished off their campaign with a 3-2 win to make it six from six.
City youngsters Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb – who was described as a Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez hybrid by Neil Lennon before the game – both scored, on a great night for the academy.
They were joined on the scoresheet by Phillips, who scored from the penalty spot after Hamilton went down in the box…
Erling Haaland posts wordless reaction on Instagram as Kalvin Phillips scores first Manchester City goal
It was heartwarming to see the players celebrate Phillips’ goal tonight.
It has been a tough time for him at the club, with Pep Guardiola being reluctant to give him minutes.
He’s had a severe lack of game time and the feeling is that the midfielder will be leaving the club in January ahead of Euro 2024 next summer.
It is possible this was Phillips’ ‘farewell’ appearance for City, with the club taking on Crystal Palace at the weekend and then going off to the Club World Cup.
When he does go, his departure is likely going to sting for the City players as they all see to love him.
One man who clearly does is Erling Haaland, who was very quick to react to the former Leeds United man scoring his first goal.
The injured star, watching from afar, took a picture of the TV screen, tagged Phillips in his Instagram Story and sent a blue heart emoji.
A nice moment for Phillips
It looked as though Phillips was chosen to take the penalty tonight by the players who were on the field, and that was nice to see.
It’s been really tough for him, and it’s good that he got to score a goal in City colours before his likely exit from the club.
Hopefully next month, Phillips will leave City and join a club for whom he can play regularly.
He is not a bad player, he just does not fit this City side, as Pep Guardiola recently suggested.
