Erling Haaland absolutely furious with Tijjani Reijnders after what happened vs Sunderland
Erling Haaland was visibly frustrated at the Stadium of Light as Man City were held to a goalless draw by Sunderland on Thursday.
Regis Le Bris got the better of Pep Guardiola in a battle of tactics on New Year’s Day, with his Norwegian striker being completely marked out of the game by the Black Cats.
The Premier League title race remains interesting, especially after Arsenal thrashed Aston Villa 4-1, also putting a dampener on Unai Emery‘s aspirations at Villa Park.
Man City‘s recent draw has seen them now fall four points behind the league leaders, with a huge clash against Chelsea up next on Sunday, 4 January, though the Blues are currently without a manager.
Erling Haaland blanks against Sunderland again
During his 90 minutes on the pitch, Haaland managed just 20 touches [FotMob], being man-marked by Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete, often having to drop back to receive the ball and get involved.
Haaland has been in incredible form this season, notching 28 goals in 29 games so far, but he found his match at the Stadium of Light, having the fewest touches of any outfield player to play the whole game.
Chances were few and far between for the 25-year-old. He missed one big chance, but other than that, service was extremely limited, and his emotions were bubbling to the surface.
In added time, just before the full-time whistle, the Citizens created one final chance to win the game, with Tijjani Reijnders finding himself free just outside the six-yard box.
Tijjani Reijnders gets it all wrong at the death
Instead of getting his head up and looking for his teammates inside the penalty area, the Dutchman decided to let off a very weak effort into the gloves of Robin Roefs.
Visibly annoyed by the decision, Haaland was seen screaming and shouting with his hands flailing in the air, in complete disbelief that his teammate hadn’t picked him out for a tap-in at the back post.
The striker has now failed to score in both games against the Black Cats this season, a very rare occurrence for the superstar, and it could be a key result in the Premier League title race.
Mikel Arteta‘s side have the chance to pull away further, facing a struggling Bournemouth side on Saturday, 3 January, but it could have been so different had Reijnders just looked up.