Invisible throughout the match, Haaland was even ‘slapped in the face’ by the referee
Erling Haaland got angry with the referees during Real vs Man City’s dramatic draw in the Champions League, especially after being slapped in the face.
Man City star Erling Haaland was slapped in the face by the referee during the match against Real Madrid, sparking an awkward apology.
The Norwegian was named in Man City’s starting line-up for the trip to Santiago Bernabeu and endured a disappointing evening.
His anger increased after a difficult first half. French referee Francois Letexier “accidentally” swung his hand too hard, as he said after the match, accidentally catching Haaland directly in the face with the back of his hand. The striker raised his hand in response and turned back to look at the king in black with frustration.
Haaland’s actions received a quick apology from Letexier, who assured the Man City striker that it was unintentional. Haaland’s frustration grew throughout the rest of the match.
In this match, Bernardo Silva scored in the 2nd minute for Man City and goals from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol helped Man City take the lead. However, host Real also scored consecutive equalizers thanks to Ruben Dias (own goal), Rodrygo Goes and Federico Valverde.
Erling Haaland will certainly hope he has better luck in this match and especially in the return match with his opponent next week.
The striker has been in great form for Man City this season once again. He has 30 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions – six of which have come in the Champions League.
In addition, Man City also missed Kevin De Bruyne in this match, when the Belgian star could not play due to the problem he encountered right before the match. This is considered the main reason why The Citizens are more difficult to play, even though Pep Guardiola’s students have scored 3 goals against their opponents.