On Tuesday night, as Erling Haaland assisted Manchester City in a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu ground in the crucial first leg of the Champions League semi-final, security guards took his father.
Kevin De Bruyne scored City’s equalizer midway through the second half, canceling out an earlier goal from Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior.
Even with away goals no longer a thing in UEFA competition, the result gives Man City a slim lead ahead of the second leg next week in the comfort of the Etihad Stadium.
But Alfie Haaland did not get to see the end of the game in Madrid. The former Manchester City, Leeds and Nottingham Forest midfielder was asked by Bernabéu security staff to step down from his position in one of the stadium’s box seats shortly after De Bruyne’s goal.
Video footage and other images showed Haaland Sr. urging and gesturing towards Real fans after the draw, which was controversial due to the fact that the ball appeared to have gone out of play earlier in the build-up. He was seen waving and also cupping his ear to the home fans below as two uniformed men entered to guide him and another person.
“Okay. Real Madrid weren’t happy that we were celebrating Kevin De Bruyne’s goal,” the 50-year-old posted on Twitter. “Other than that, we had to move because Real Madrid fans [were] Not happy with the 1-1”.
Will Erling Haaland break Dixie Dean’s goalscoring record?
Erling Haaland has had an incredible debut season at City following last summer’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year-old Norwegian has scored a staggering 51 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions and is chasing Dixie Dean’s all-time English record of 63 goals (all competitions) in a single season which has stood since 1928.
Haaland needs 12 goals to equal that figure and 13 to surpass it. However, he will only have a limited number of additional games to do so. City will play a minimum of six more games this season, increasing to seven if they reach the Champions League final.
It means that Haaland will have to average close to two goals per game to break the record. Dean’s all-time record of 60 goals in a single English league season is safe for now.
Even so, Haaland has already set new records for most goals by a Man City player in a single season and most Premier League goals in a single season.
