Manchester City and Tottenham played out a dramatic 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with Erling Haaland and Giovani Lo Celso involved in some handbags after full-time.
The Norway international was at the centre of the situation as the treble winners were left furious by Simon Hooper’s decision to pull play back, as Jack Grealish raced through on goal.
Manchester City’s No.9 was visibly livid with the 41-year-old, and the situation boiled over as he trudged off the pitch.
So, what happened between Erling Haaland and Giovani Lo Celso? Let’s take a look…
What happened between Erling Haaland and Giovani Lo Celso
Well, the Argentina international decided to wind up the 23-year-old for no reason after Sunday’s thrilling spectacle.
The £27.2m Tottenham man could be seen needlessly barging into Haaland as the Norwegian made his way towards the dressing room – the footage can be viewed below.
Already infuriated by Hooper, the Leeds-born striker was in no mood to ignore the South American, and could be seen turning round to say something to Lo Celso before others separated the pair.
Haaland was already – quite clearly – furious, so it was brainless from the Tottenham No.18 to poke the hornet’s nest.
It was always going to spark an angry reaction from Manchester City’s talisman.
Haaland should avoid punishment after Manchester City 3-3 Tottenham
In our view, Haaland’s anger was justified, and he should not be punished for his actions after Sunday’s 3-3 draw.
The Norwegian could be in hot water after writing “WTF” on X (previously known as Twitter) along with a video of Hooper’s decision, based on what happened to Virgil van Dijk back in August.
While rules are rules and consistency is important, Haaland did not overstep the mark amid a moment where he really had every right to act even more aggressively.
Hopefully, the FA understand that Haaland’s reaction – which Alfie Haaland replied to – was as much of a human error as Hooper’s decision, and leave it at that.
