Manchester City hero Erling Haaland 'sad' over 'completely wrong' decision to disallow second goal against Tottenham

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was left "sad" at what he felt was a "completely wrong" decision to rule out his second goal against Tottenham Hotspur.

Haaland struck in the 12th minute to score what turned out to be the winner in north London, and looked to have made sure all three points would be heading back to Manchester when he nestled an effort into the back of the net in the dying stages of the clash.

But referee Jarred Gillett opted to penalise the Norway international - who returned from a two-match absence through injury - for an apparent handball, as the striker tussled with Archie Gray and Kevin Danso in a bid to find space in the box.

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Upon a VAR review, Gillett's initial decision to disallow the goal was upheld, though replays showed the decision to be a dubious one - with TNT Sports pundit Peter Crouch pointing out the infringement looked more likely to be made by Spurs defender Danso.

Joining the TNT Sports panel pitchside after the match, Haaland fumed at what he felt was "more of a penalty than a free kick".

"No, I think it's the wrong decision," Haaland said. "Clearly, it's more of a penalty than a free kick, but I think because he gave the decision on the pitch, that's a bit of the reason why he stood with the decision.

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"I don't know. But I never think that should be disallowed. I think it's completely wrong, but that was a great goal though. So sad. I think it's more of a penalty, that's my opinion."

The decision ultimately had no impact on the result, but could have proved significant if Pape Matar Sarr had sunk his late chance to equalise, eight minutes into stoppage time.

City boss Pep Guardiola did not give too much away regarding his verdict of the disallowed goal.

"I didn't see it, but the referee was much, much quicker to disallow the goal than the VAR," Guardiola said.

"So he was clever and quick, but yeah, like we won is fine, but at the end, they have another chance at the end, so it's difficult."

City's victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a welcome boost after disappointing defeats to Real Madrid - curtailing their UEFA Champions League campaign - and Liverpool.

'He's making a mockery of the Premier League'

Former Spurs striker Crouch has enjoyed Haaland's influence on the English top flight since his arrival at Etihad Stadium in 2022.

The Norwegian's injury-induced absence was sorely felt during the defeats to Real and Liverpool, as City struggled to replace his sizeable goal threat.

Haaland's strike against Spurs took his tally to 83 in the Premier League, now sitting 25 goals behind the 108 that Crouch managed to accumulate throughout his top-flight career.

The former forward found the amusing side of that particular statistic, though could not hide his admiration for the City talisman.

"Centre forwards want to hang back and get the perfect goal," Haaland said. "He's always in and around it.

"He plays the percentages, but he also has the pace, ability and strength to create goals on his own. He's an absolute machine, I'm looking forward to seeing the next nine years, to be honest.

"[I scored] 108, so he's not quite there yet! He's done it in three years, I did it in about 22! He's making a mockery of the Premier League, I was quite pleased with my career."

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