Erling Haaland admits Fulham have a right to be angry over Manchester City’s controversial second goal in Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland scored a hat-trick as champions City ultimately ran out comfortable 5-1 winners over the Londoners but the game turned on a highly contentious incident just before half-time.
Nathan Ake headed City 2-1 ahead but Fulham complained vociferously that Manuel Akanji, stood in an offside position, had attempted to kick the ball on its way past and hindered goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The protests, both on the field and the touchline, continued long after VAR had ruled the goal should stand and Haaland accepts the visitors had a point.
“I think it was offside as well,” the Norwegian told beIN Sports. “I feel bad for them, I would be fuming after this as well. It must be a horrible feeling for them.”
Prior to that, the game had been rather more sedate with few chances until Julian Alvarez scored a 31st-minute opener that was quickly cancelled out by Tim Ream.
City did not dwell on the incident after the break, moving through the gears with Haaland typically coming to the fore.
He finished clinically from an Alvarez pass, fired home a penalty and then turned in a Sergio Gomez cross to claim his seventh City hat-trick in stoppage time.
“I’m back,” said Haaland, who scored 52 goals last season. “I am always hungry. It’s a new season and I am ready.
“We started a bit sloppy but we ended in a good way. It was important to win – four out of four – and we go into the international break after a really good start.”
City’s victory was their second without manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline as he continues his recovery from back surgery, but the Spaniard is expected to return for the trip to West Ham in a fortnight.
“I think he misses us,” said Haaland. “We also miss him sometimes too, so we look forward to having him back.”
Fulham go into the international break without a win since their season-opener at Everton, but veteran defender Ream expects the team to hit back.
The American said: “That’s just the nature of the squad, the mentality (manager) Marco (Silva) has instilled in us.
“It’s just a shame that we have an international break and it’s two weeks between games for some guys.
“But we’ll come back. We’ll look at things we can improve upon and we go again when we come back.”
'Nothing concrete' - Gyokeres brushes off Man Utd transfer links
Viktor Gyokeres says the rumours linking him with a January move to Manchester United are "nothing concrete".
The Sporting CP forward has been the subject of speculation following United's appointment of Ruben Amorim, though he has also been linked with the likes of Bayern Munich and Arsenal after his sensational form since moving to Portugal.
He has scored 34 goals in the Portuguese top-flight this calendar year, more than double the figure managed by the competition's next-most prolific player, Galeno, who has netted 16 times for Porto.
Gyokeres' haul has come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 28.18, while his shot conversion rate sits at 27.64% in 2024 (123 shots).
Amorim, who signed a contract at Old Trafford until June 2027, signed Gyokeres from Coventry City in July 2023, though he has suggested he will not buy any Sporting players in the upcoming transfer window.
Asked about a potential move to the Premier League, Gyokeres told Fotbollskanalen: "It's fun, but not something I attach any importance to because it's talk.
"These are rumours, nothing concrete. Of course, I want to finish the season at Sporting. I enjoy my time there. I don't feel stressed about making a change in the future. We'll see when the time comes.
"He [Amorim] probably already has strikers there. It's very sad that he left [Sporting], but of course, we understand the decision. He meant a lot to me, as he gave me an opportunity and helped me evolve a lot.
"Now we are looking forward to working with the new coach [Joao Pereira]."
The 26-year-old, who scored a league-high 29 goals last campaign, has netted 23 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions this term, with 16 of those coming in the Primeira Liga.
Tottenham's Odobert undergoes hamstring surgery
Tottenham have confirmed that Wilson Odobert has undergone surgery for a hamstring injury.
The 19-year-old joined Spurs from Burnley in August and made five appearances in all competitions for the north London side.
He managed just 162 minutes in his three Premier League matches, creating three chances in that time, but has not featured in the competition since their 1-0 loss to Arsenal in mid-September.
His last appearance was a two-minute cameo in the Europa League group stage amid ongoing hamstring problems.
"We can confirm that Wilson Odobert underwent surgery to his right hamstring yesterday (Saturday 16th November)," Spurs said on social media.
"The 19-year-old will continue to be closely monitored by our medical team to determine when he can return to training."
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
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