Erling Haaland reluctantly gives jersey to Young Boys’ captain at halftime of Man City’s Champions League rout
By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — Everyone wants a piece of Erling Haaland at the moment and that sentiment seems to extend to Manchester City’s opposition.
At halftime of City’s 3-0 win against Young Boys in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, Haaland was asked for his shirt by opposition captain Mohamed Ali Camara.
It’s common for players to swap shirts at the end of matches, but rare for them to do so during such a high-profile game.
Footage showed the City striker shaking his head while walking off the pitch, appearing to say, “You cannot do this,” before reluctantly taking off his jersey and handing it to Camara.
City was already 2-0 up at the break, thanks to a 23rd-minute penalty from Haaland and a brilliant solo goal from Phil Foden at the end of the half.
When asked about the incident during his post-match press conference, Young Boys manager Raphael Wicky said he was “surprised.”
“I didn’t see that. That’s news for me. I’m honestly a little bit surprised about that right now,” he said.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the game after or with the performance. But I will probably have a word with [Camara].”
Meanwhile, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said it was “not normal” but wanted instead to focus on his side qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
“We win 3-0. It happened, I don’t know the reason why it happened. It’s not a big subject for me right now,” Guardiola told reporters.
Young Boys needed to beat Manchester City to keep their razor-thin hopes of progression alive.
Ultimately, though, the Swiss side was no match for the reigning champion which is now unbeaten in its last 18 European matches.
On verge of another record
Haaland had been a doubt for Tuesday’s game after a minor injury scare forced him to miss the second-half of Manchester City’s 6-1 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday, but the Norwegian showed little sign of being hampered.
His second goal of the game was simply brilliant. The runner-up at this year’s Ballon d’Or picked the ball up on the edge of the box before rifling a fierce left-footed shot into the far side of the goal.
“To be fair, I’d be asking for his jersey after that,” ex-Scotland striker and TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoist quipped during commentary.
Haaland, 23, has now scored 39 goals in just 34 Champions League appearances and already sits 20th in the all-time scoring list.
He is also on the verge of breaking the record for fewest appearances to reach 40 goals in the Champions League. The current mark of 45 games was set by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Already through to the last 16, City will look to cement first place in Group G when it takes on RB Leipzig on November 28.
The-CNN-Wire
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