VIDEO – Erling Haaland Gets Accidentally Slapped In the Face By Referee During Real Madrid Vs Manchester City

Erling Haaland has to be annoyed with his day at the box office. The Manchester City superstar has struggled to deliver throughout the contest, with Antonio Rugider maintaining his vice-like group on the striker. Haaland’s mood seemed to sour further during halftime, as the player was at the receiving end of an accidental slap from the match referee!

The incident occurred during halftime with Erling Haaland walking towards the dugout. The match referee was having an animated conversation with Dani Carvajal and did not see the striker coming from his back as his extended hands hit Haaland square in the face. Haaland had a wry expression before the match official quickly turned towards the Norwegian to apologize for his mistake. The Manchester City number nine nodded in response before walking over to join his teammates.

Erling Haaland’s night did not get any better, as the striker was absent from most of his team’s play throughout the contest. While Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, and Josko Gvardiol registered their names into the scoresheet, the Manchester City number nine had another silent day at work. It hasn’t been the first time Haaland has failed to impact big games, with the player struggling to find a room during the goalless draw against Arsenal earlier this week.

Is Erling Haaland facing the jitters before big games?

So this has been a rising concern amongst Manchester City fans, with Erling Haaland failing to deliver during some of the biggest occasions for the club. While the striker has shown his amazing goal-scoring proficiency during regular games, his form usually takes a dip when it matters the most. UCL semifinals, UCL final, FA Cup final, and the game against Arsenal are just examples of opposition completely closing down Erling Haaland with the player failing to register as a single goal. Now, while credit for this goes to the opposition, the players’ numbers haven’t done him any favors.

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Erling Haaland during his knockout appearances for Manchester City, has registered just 0.72 goals on average, with a shot ratio of just 1.16 per ninety minutes. It is very shoddy when compared to his numbers for the club on regular outings, with the striker registering 2.88 shots on average with a 1.34 goal ratio per 90 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the player overcomes his weakness, as Manchester City desperately needs the player to start delivering on big matches.

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