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Manchester City may have been lucky Erling Haaland wasn't sent off

Manchester City may have been lucky Erling Haaland wasn't sent off

The record-breaking striker could have been sent off for his challenge on Vitaliy Mykolenko, during City's 1-1 draw with Everton.

Erling Haaland could consider himself lucky not to be sent off, after a wild challenge on Vitaliy Mykolenko during Manchester City's draw to Everton.

So far, during his time in the Premier League, it's barely seemed like Haaland could put a foot wrong, with everything he touches turning to gold.

He's already broken several records in his short time so far in England, becoming the quickest player by some distance to score three hat-tricks in the league.

In midweek he became the quickest player to score 20 goals in a season and he's well on his way to breaking the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League campaign.

On Saturday afternoon, the Norwegian bagged his 21st of the league campaign to date, meaning he'd have won the Golden Boot four times in the division's history, and it's only December.

The goal against Everton ended up earning Pep Guardiola's side a 1-1 draw, after Demarai Gray's incredible equaliser in the second half.

Haaland wasn't able to add to his tally to earn all three points, with City currently trying to chase Arsenal at the top of the table, but he was lucky to still be on.

Late in the first half, the forward was attempting to keep his side's famous press going, but launched himself into a challenge on Mykolenko, who had the ball at his feet.

Whilst not inflicting too much damage, some fans felt that the intent and danger of the challenge warranted more than the yellow card he was given.

"Only one intent, to clean the player out. Clear red. Change the shirts and he walks," one fan said, suggesting the 'big club' or home bias was at play at the Etihad Stadium.

"Haaland escaped red. Had it been a Liverpool player we would've heard liVARpool all year long," one fan of Jurgen Klopp's team, who must have hated wanting to see Everton prosper, added.

Another posted, "Can someone somewhere explain the Haaland incident. I'm guessing there are some who will defend the referee, but really, how obvious can a red card be?

"Have I misinterpreted his run an lunge off the floor n catching a player? I must have."

"That Haaland challenge looked wild from where I’m sat," another exclaimed.

Another amusingly added, "I’ve seen smoother Ryanair landings than that challenge from Haaland on Myko. Very lucky to escape with a yellow. Looks on one today him."

Haaland was on the wrong end of a bad challenge from Ben Godfrey just one minute into the game, which left the former Borussia Dortmund striker down for some time.

That would have panicked City fans, and everyone who has him on Fantasy Premier League, for a moment but he was soon on his feet.

Some suggested that the challenge by the striker was a bit of a reciprocation from the kind of treatment that he was getting.

His failure to score a second goal left City four points behind Arsenal, before the Gunners faced Brighton in the later game.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: Premier League, Manchester City, Erling Haaland, Everton