Former Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch reacted to Erling Haaland's hilarious impression of his famous 'robot celebration' after scoring against Bournemouth on Sunday. The Norwegian goal machine scored a brace in City's dominant 3-1 win over Bournemouth as Pep Guardiola's side moved up to second in the Premier League table.
Haaland imitates Crouch
After a disappointing loss to Aston Villa away from home, City bounced back in style to humble a high-flying Bournemouth side as they thrashed the Cherries 3-1. Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute before doubling the team's lead just past the half-hour mark. Nico O'Reilly then sealed the fate of the game with a third goal in the 60th minute. Tyler Adams had found one for his team in the 25th minute but it was Guardiola's men in the end, who walked off the pitch with all three points and reduced their gap with league leaders Arsenal to six points.
Following his 17th-minute opener, which Haaland scored with a brilliant solo run, the goal machine ran towards the right edge of the penalty box before pulling off the 'robot' celebration.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesCrouch reacts to Haaland's celebration
Crouch pulled off the 'robot' celebration for the first time almost two decades ago after he scored for England in a friendly against Hungary. He later repeated the celebration during a victory over Jamaica and then again after scoring his 100th Premier League goal, while playing for Stoke City.
The ex-Reds forward later shared a video on social media with two laughing emojis. He had earlier written, reacting to Haaland's celebration: "I walked so they could run."
How Haaland reacted to his goals?
Speaking to after the game, Haaland said: "Important win. It is good to bounce back after losing a bad away game. It was nice. I tried to contribute for the team by doing my job. It is good to win. Now two more important games to come, so keep focusing. I didn't score last game. I try to help the team to win. That is my goal and even by scoring or helping in winning duels it doesn't matter. I want to help the team become better, that is my job."
Bournemouth captain David Brooks was in awe of the City star as he told : "We look to press but Manchester City are extremely comfortable on the ball. In the first half we created a lot of opportunities for ourselves through the press. But the big man up top for them – Haaland – is always going to be a threat. It's almost impossible [to prepare to face Haaland]. He's 6ft 5in, strong, a massive threat when the ball is falling to him. He took his chances well. "It was always going to be a tough game against Manchester City. It's probably the hardest week to prepare for. We knew we had to come here and be the best version of ourselves. A few minor details cost us today."
Haaland has reached Messi and Ronaldo's level, says Pep
Reacting to yet another stellar performance from Haaland, City boss Guardiola said: "Have you seen the numbers of that guy? Of course, he has [reached their level]. The numbers from Cristiano and Messi have been for 15 years, Messi is still scoring two, three goals every game and Cristiano in Saudi Arabia, the same. This is that level. The first goal, the way he shoots the ball, going down on the grass saying ‘I am going to score this’. I have said many times, he is incredibly coachable and I am tough with him sometimes. I always try to be open-minded with him and there are players who say ‘what are you talking about?’ He is completely down to earth; he wants to do it and he lives for the goals. Without him it would be tough to be honest."
