Monaco’s Eric Dier scored a late equaliser against City.
Erling Haaland was in no mood to sugarcoat Manchester City’s performance in the Champions League on Wednesday night, when they were pushed to a dramatic 2-2 draw against Monaco.
The Norwegian continued his impressive start to the 2025-26 season with a first-half double, bringing his total to 52 goals in 50 Champions League outings.
After a calm first 15 minutes at the Stade Louis II, the prolific Haaland scored with his first touch after latching onto Josko Gvardiol’s feed, but the home side quickly equalised.
Jordan Teze levelled the score three minutes later with a well executed strike from outside the area.
City controlled from that point forward, and after long periods of possession, Haaland scored his brace on the stroke of halftime, heading in from Nico O’Reilly’s cross to give the visitors a well-deserved 2-1 lead.
Pep Guardiola’s team continued to dominate, but after Nico Gonzalez kicked Eric Dier in the head, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder converted a 90th-minute penalty to earn an unexpected point.
In his post-match interview with TNT Sports, Haaland was asked about his opinions on the game, and he was unimpressed.
“Of course, I don’t feel well. “We don’t win,” he explained. “We did something unnecessary in the second half, and I do not believe we played well enough. So we do not deserve to win, and that is why.”
When asked what was missing from City’s performance, Haaland responded, “I believe we need more energy. We need to go after them more, as we did in the first half. We dominated the second half. “I do not think it is good enough.”
https://x.com/footballontnt/status/1973496575897772325
As shown in the video above, a question about Monaco’s penalty was asked, and Haaland responded in his customary straightforward manner. “I didn’t see it again, but I don’t know,” he replied. “If you kick someone in the face, I guess it’s a penalty.”
The Norwegian was then asked the following questions concerning his brace.
Olivia Buzaglo, a TNT reporter, asked: “You only had seven touches as a striker in the first half.” Two of these were goals. Are we underestimating how difficult it is to not be involved in the game and then score two goals?”
He responded, “I still think I’m participating in the game, moving around and allowing people space. So it’s not just about touching the ball, whether you’re in the game or not. I believe you can be active in the game in a variety of ways, and that is my job.”
Haaland continued: “I performed my duty throughout the first half. “In the second half, I didn’t.”
xz
