Peter Crouch has hailed Erling Haaland's decision to copy his iconic robot celebration, declaring 'I walked so they could run' after the Manchester City striker paid homage to the former England forward. Haaland performed the celebration after opening the scoring in City's 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday.
Crouch first unveiled the robot dance in 2006 after scoring for England in a friendly against Hungary, and repeated it days later against Jamaica. The celebration became a trademark of the 6ft 7in striker, who also brought it out when netting his 100th Premier League goal for Stoke City.
Haaland's brace against Bournemouth took his Premier League tally to 13 for the season, and 17 in all competitions. The Norwegian said he was determined to help City bounce back after a defeat the previous weekend. 'Important win. It is good to bounce back after losing a bad away game,' he told Sky Sports.
City manager Pep Guardiola compared Haaland's influence to that of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, noting his hunger for goals. 'You see the numbers of that guy? Of course he's that level. Messi and Ronaldo have done it for 15 years, but this is the level,' Guardiola said.
