Mueez Ajao
– Erling Haaland’s amazing goalscoring feats this season have led some to believe he is not actually human but even he felt the pressure of having to convert an injury-time penalty to give Manchester City victory over Fulham.
– The 22-year-old Norwegian, who just about beat Bernd Leno with his 95th-minute spot-kick to send his side top of the Premier League and spark wild celebrations at Etihad Stadium, admitted to Sky Sports afterwards: “I was nervous – it was one of the most nervous moments of my life.
– “A penalty in the last minute? Of course I would be nervous,” he added to BBC Sport. “But it was about getting through the situation in the proper way and I did that. It was a fantastic feeling to score.
Also Read: Super-sub Haaland’s penalty edges City past Fulham
– “I love it. I have been injured for a week and it was really important for us to win.”
– Haaland, who had started on the bench after missing City’s last two games with a foot problem, had seen an earlier header disallowed for offside by VAR and with four other efforts either missed the ball, the target or saw his shot blocked.
– He was not to be denied, however, and after scoring his second penalty for City, he now has 18 Premier League goals in his first 12 games – and 23 from 17 in all competitions – this season.
– Most of his finishes during that spectacular scoring run have been a lot more emphatic than this latest strike, which Leno appeared to dive over and get a hand to without being able to keep it out, but Haaland’s only concern was that it ended up in the net, like all the rest.
– “I don’t care how it went in, it is about it going in. It was an amazing feeling,” Haaland said.
– “For me, it was about coming in with some energy and try and get a goal because these three points are really important. It was about trying to get it and that is what we did.”
