Erling Haaland admits Fulham have a right to be angry over Manchester City’s controversial second goal in Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland scored a hat-trick as champions City ultimately ran out comfortable 5-1 winners over the Londoners but the game turned on a highly contentious incident just before half-time.
Nathan Ake headed City 2-1 ahead but Fulham complained vociferously that Manuel Akanji, stood in an offside position, had attempted to kick the ball on its way past and hindered goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The protests, both on the field and the touchline, continued long after VAR had ruled the goal should stand and Haaland accepts the visitors had a point.
“I think it was offside as well,” the Norwegian told beIN Sports. “I feel bad for them, I would be fuming after this as well. It must be a horrible feeling for them.”
Prior to that, the game had been rather more sedate with few chances until Julian Alvarez scored a 31st-minute opener that was quickly cancelled out by Tim Ream.
City did not dwell on the incident after the break, moving through the gears with Haaland typically coming to the fore.
He finished clinically from an Alvarez pass, fired home a penalty and then turned in a Sergio Gomez cross to claim his seventh City hat-trick in stoppage time.
“I’m back,” said Haaland, who scored 52 goals last season. “I am always hungry. It’s a new season and I am ready.
“We started a bit sloppy but we ended in a good way. It was important to win – four out of four – and we go into the international break after a really good start.”
City’s victory was their second without manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline as he continues his recovery from back surgery, but the Spaniard is expected to return for the trip to West Ham in a fortnight.
“I think he misses us,” said Haaland. “We also miss him sometimes too, so we look forward to having him back.”
Fulham go into the international break without a win since their season-opener at Everton, but veteran defender Ream expects the team to hit back.
The American said: “That’s just the nature of the squad, the mentality (manager) Marco (Silva) has instilled in us.
“It’s just a shame that we have an international break and it’s two weeks between games for some guys.
“But we’ll come back. We’ll look at things we can improve upon and we go again when we come back.”
Sporting Kansas City v Minnesota United: Ramsay aiming to regain momentum after 'dent'
Eric Ramsay is hopeful Minnesota United's latest defeat has not dented their momentum as they prepare to travel to Sporting Kansas City in MLS.
Minnesota have won two and lost two of their last four MLS matches, with those two victories both coming on the road.
They are ninth in the Western Conference after losing to FC Cincinnati in their last outing, failing to mount a comeback after two first-half goals from their visitors.
Ramsay was slightly disappointed by the result but is determined to take the positives from that game as they continue their playoff push.
"We showed some naivety [against Cincinnati] with the goals we conceded, but the game as a whole was largely very good," he said.
"We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the whole division. We have to take that as a positive and use that as a step forward, as a continuation of the momentum that we've built so far and not let it dent what we've already done."
Meanwhile, Sporting are 12th in the league, having lost just one of their last five league matches.
They beat Colorado Rapids 4-1 last time out, with Alan Pulido netting a brace, and head coach Peter Vermes was delighted to see him getting in on the goals.
"Alan has this level in him and has great form over the past two months, but we're playing him in better places on the field," Vermes said. "We haven't found enough chances to get him in on goal, and we need to keep improving that.
"The good thing is that we have options, we're not stuck. We're limitless right now, we have a lot of different ways in which we can put different combinations of players on the field."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sporting KC – Alan Pulido
Pulido scored twice in Kansas City's win over Colorado on Wednesday, his seventh multi-goal game for Sporting.
The only two players in club history with more multi-goal regular season games are Dom Dwyer (10) and Digital Takawira (eight).
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Kelvin Yeboah scored from the penalty spot on Wednesday, with three of his four goals this season have been via penalty kicks.
Yeboah is the fourth player to have 3+ penalty kick goals in a season for Minnesota, with Darwin Quintero being the only Loons player with more (four in 2019).
MATCH PREDICTION: SPORTING KANSAS CITY WIN
Sporting KC have won 10 of their 11 all-time home matches against Minnesota, including the last four in a row. Minnesota's lone result at Sporting was a 3-0 victory in the 2020 playoffs.
Indeed, Kansas City have won three straight home matches across all competitions, with all three victories coming by multiple goals. This is the first time Sporting have won three straight home games, all by 2+ goals, since a four-game run to start the 2019 season.
However, after going winless in eight straight on the road (D2 L6), Minnesota have recorded back-to-back wins away from home. The longest road winning streak in club history in all competitions is three matches, achieved in both 2022 and 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Sporting KC – 46.8%
Draw – 26.4%
Minnesota United – 26.8%
Al-Ettifaq 0-3 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo scores as Pioli earns first win
Stefano Pioli won his first game in charge of Al-Nassr, with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted the first goal of Pioli's reign as Al-Nassr picked up just their second win in the Saudi Pro League this season.
It was a fairly even first half until Abdullah Madu fouled Sultan Al Ghannam in the box, and Ronaldo made no mistake from 12 yards to put the visitors in front.
Angelo and Talisca were both denied by the goalkeeper before half-time, but Al-Nassr doubled their lead with the first shot of the second half, as Salem Al Najdi scored a delightful chip from a tight angle in the 56th minute.
Talisca did get his goal in the 70th minute, beating Marek Rodak for power with his low drive after being picked out by Sadio Mane.
Ronaldo almost got a second late on, but with just one minute remaining, he struck the woodwork with a long-range strike.
Data Debrief: Pioli inspires total dominance
Al-Ettifaq were unbeaten coming into this game, but they offered little in terms of fight, mustering just six shots, two of which were on target, and created just 0.44 expected goals.
Al-Nassr on the other hand, tested Rodak with half of their 14 shots on target (1.83 xG) - Talisca had the most (five) and was rewarded for it with his late goal.
It was Mane who pulled the strings though, creating four chances, and claiming two assists, while his 18 passes into the final third were the most of anyone on the pitch.
No love lost for Conte ahead of 'emotional' Juventus reunion
Antonio Conte is relishing Napoli's upcoming clash that will see him return to Juventus, a club he both played for and managed.
Conte has started his career in Naples in fine form, leading Napoli to three wins from their first four league games and to second in the Serie A standings.
But this weekend sees him return to the club he made 419 appearances for as a player, winning 12 titles, which included the Champions League in 1995-96.
Having started his managerial journey at Arezzo in 2006, the Italian returned to Juventus in 2011, replacing Luigi Delneri as their new head coach.
Conte led Juventus to three consecutive Scudetto titles, winning 90 of his 133 games in charge (D30 L13) before becoming the Italy national team head coach.
The last time the 55-year-old travelled to Turin as the opposing team's manager was in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with his Inter side losing 3-2 having already won the title.
"My past is clear, 13 years at Juve as a player, I was captain for several years, winning practically everything," Conte said.
"I had the opportunity to coach for three years, starting a series of nine Scudetti.
"I am part of Juve's history because of what I've done and given them. It's easier to stay at one club your entire career.
"But as a coach it's impossible to decide your own career. I coached Juve for three years, my career took me to different places.
"Today I have the true pleasure of coaching a team like Napoli. For me, being someone from the south, it is a proud and satisfying feeling.
"There will be lots of emotions returning to that stadium, because last time I returned during COVID."
Conte comes up against a man he knows well in Juventus head coach Thiago Motta, having managed him during his time with the Italian national team.
Motta has collected eight points from his four games in charge of his new club after leading Bologna to Champions League qualification last term.
The 42-year-old marked his first game as a head coach in the Champions League with a comfortable 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Conte wished Motta well for the season, but not at the expense of his Napoli side.
"Thiago Motta takes on a heavy legacy... It's not a trivial thing to coach there, there is a demand for victory, like at Milan or Inter," Conte said.
"He was a player of mine with the national team at the European Championships. He makes me smile, but it also saddens me a bit because I'm getting old.
"He did very well in Bologna and so I wish him the best from a human point of view, but not in the games against us."
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