Ex-Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit says Manchester City striker Erling Haaland got his own back on Marc Cucurella after scoring the opener during the 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Cucurella had made up a song taunting Haaland, leading the Norwegian to admonish his opponent publicly. Speaking about the incident on behalf of Android Poker Apps, Petit said the City star had taught Cucurella a lesson:
“Erling Haaland scoring against Marc Cucurella is probably karma. It reminds me of times before big games when I was playing and some players would say a lot in press conferences.”
“In my teams, we always said never to talk big about a player before a game otherwise that could turn into a weapon against us. That talk could motivate the opposition’s player to perform even better, like it did to Haaland.”
Haaland silenced the critics
The forward got his season off to a flyer against Chelsea. While the 24-year-old has continued to break records, his overall ability has been questioned at times, as he rarely gets involved in build-up play.
However, Haaland is a born finisher and he took his goal expertly at the weekend, brushing off Cucurella before lifting the ball past the onrushing Robert Sanchez. That is now 91 goals in 100 appearances for City; a quite phenomenal record.
City will be keen to build on their strong start
Manager Pep Guardiola had warned fans heading into the season that his team could be slow out of the blocks due to his squad’s lack of match fitness.
However, after beating Manchester United in the Community Shield and winning comfortably against Chelsea, the reigning Premier League champions couldn’t have wished for a better beginning to the campaign. Next up is newly-promoted Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
