Erling Haaland delivered a scathing verdict on Manchester City's second-half performance after they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Monaco in a pre-season friendly. The Norwegian striker, who scored twice in the first half, labelled his side's display after the break as 'unnecessary' and admitted they did not deserve to win.
Haaland opened the scoring with a clinical finish before Jordan Teze equalised for Monaco with a stunning strike. The 24-year-old restored City's lead with another goal, but the Premier League champions failed to capitalise on their dominance and were pegged back when Eric Dier converted a late penalty following a VAR review for a high foot by Nico Gonzalez.
'We did something unnecessary in the second half. We didn't play good enough so we don't deserve to win,' Haaland said. 'We need more energy, to get back to more like the first half, we dominated much more. In the second half they took the lead much more.'
The striker also weighed in on the contentious penalty decision, which saw Gonzalez penalised for catching Dier in the face. 'If you kick someone in the face I guess it's a penalty. I don't know. I didn't see it,' he added.
Despite the frustration, Haaland's double continued his remarkable form, with goals in eight successive games for club and country. He now has 11 goals in eight appearances for City this season. The forward, who had only seven touches in the first half, downplayed the statistic, insisting he contributes in other ways.
'I still think I'm involved in the game, doing movements and giving space to the others,' he said. 'You can be involved in the game many other ways. I did my job in the first half, I didn't in the second.'
