Man City star Erling Haaland tells opponent to ‘f*** off’ after cheeky request

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland shared an amusing exchange with Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi as the defender continued to hound him after the final whistle at the Etihad on Tuesday. Despite scoring nine times in just four Premier League games this season, Haaland was left frustrated after being marked out of the game by Acerbi and Alessandro Bastoni, and found opportunities limited in the 0-0 draw.

It meant a disappointing start to the new Champions League competition for City, but wasn’t the first time their No.9 has failed to fire against Inter. 

In the final in 2023, where a goal from Rodri finally gave Pep Guardiola’s side the European crown they craved, Haaland was also kept quiet by 36-year-old Acerbi, and was reminded of it last night as he left the field.

Acerbi was seen joking and laughing as his rival pulled at his shirt, and appeared to say “give me two,” while reports also suggested he quipped “Two games, zero goals.” An exacerbated Haaland responded with “Two? F**k off.”

The Norwegian did see the humorous side moments later, with Acerbi later taking to Instagram to continue the fun. He wrote: “I asked Haaland for his shirt, but he didn’t give it to me! Just kidding!”

The ex-Borussia Dortmund man went into the game looking for his 100th club goal for the Premier League champions, on what was only his 104th appearance. But despite shooting inches wide from outside the area in the first half, Haaland struggled to make an impact as he mustered just 14 touches over the 90 minutes.

Acerbi is a veteran of Serie A, having made 574 appearances in his native country for 11 different clubs. He’s also won 34 international caps, and was part of the successful Euro 2020 campaign when the Azzurri beat England on penalties in the final.

The League Phase clash largely mirrored the final clash in Istanbul 15 months ago, with Inter organised and setting up to effectively contain their opponents. And yet the visitors also had their chances, with Matteo Darmian wasting the best of them when he declined to shoot when clean through on goal.

It was the first time since October 2022 that City have not scored in a Champions League match. And afterwards, Pep Guardiola insisted he was still happy with the result given the display of the Italian champions.

“We faced a really difficult team,” he said. “I’m still really, really satisfied for the game we played, especially with how Inter defended, they are masters of that, so big, they help each other unbelievably. So you cannot expect to create a lot of chances.”

City and Haaland will now prepare to face title rivals Arsenal on Sunday. Guardiola’s side will kick-off as the only team left with a 100 per cent record in England’s top-flight after the 2-1 win over Brentford last weekend, where the reigning Golden Boot holder scored both goals.