Erling Haaland said he responded to taunts from Manchester United fans about the injury which finished his father’s playing career by scoring from the penalty spot in Manchester City‘s 3-0 derby win at Old Trafford.
Haaland’s father, Alfie, suffered damaged knee ligaments following a foul by United captain Roy Keane during an Old Trafford derby in April 2001. Keane later admitted in his autobiography that he deliberately set out to hurt the former Norway midfielder as revenge for his part in the cruciate ligament injury he suffered while playing against Haaland four years earlier.
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As Haaland waited to take his penalty — City’s first at Old Trafford since 1991 — the United supporters repeatedly chanted “Keano” and “Haaland, How’s your dad?” before the City forward scored and celebrated in front of the opposition fans.
“People were singing to me ‘Keano,'” Haaland told the BBC. “I don’t know why, but it is what it is. It was a nice celebration and a nice game.”
Haaland went on to score City’s second goal before teeing up a third for Phil Foden late in the second-half, but manager Pep Guardiola said he didn’t believe that the forward was motivated by the United fan chants.
“Honestly, we didn’t speak about that,” Guardiola said. “I think Erling knows his motivation is to score at Old Trafford against a confident team. He loves to score a goal.”
