Gary Lineker was left stunned today, as he saw Erling Haaland miss a chance for Manchester City from just yards out against Manchester United.
City took on their bitter rivals at the Etihad Stadium, and were looking to win and keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
City started brightly, but Marcus Rashford scored an admittedly stunning goal against the run of play after a long kick from Andre Onana.
It meant United were happy to sit back and defend, and that made it hard for City to breach the Red Devils as they set up with a low block.
In the end though, City did turn things around, with Phil Foden scoring a brace and Erling Haaland sealing the win in injury-time.
On the stroke of half-time though, Haaland produced genuinely one of the worst misses you will ever see…
Gary Lineker reacts to Erling Haaland miss against Manchester United
Haaland has been nothing short of incredible during his professional career so far.
Time and time again, we see him scoring goals with clinical finishes, and also a lot of fairly easy tap-ins thanks to his brilliant positioning.
He should have scored another tap-in today, but as the ball came across the goal to him from Phil Foden, the Norwegian striker tried to volley in.
All he needed to do was stoop slightly and nod home from just a couple of yards out.
But the 23-year-old saw his effort blaze over, to the absolute astonishment of those in the stadium and those watching at home.
One man watching from home was Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, who summed it up pretty well by saying on X: “That might be the worst miss I’ve ever seen at this level. @ErlingHaaland has to head it. Incredible.”
Scarcely believable from Haaland, but late goal shows why he’s so good
It was remarkable that Haaland did not score the chance that was on a plate for him today against United.
He came into the game in red-hot form following his haul of five goals in midweek against Luton Town.
There are no excuses for him missing, and it was genuinely one of the worst misses you are likely to see.
But Haaland scored at the end to essentially seal the game for City, and it was a clinical finish after he was slipped in by Rodri.
And that is what makes Haaland so special. It ultimately rarely matters if he misses a glaring chance – it doesn’t affect him, and it’s always likely that he’ll score from another chance.
