Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been told that he is a 'lucky man' for avoiding a straight red card in the Blues' Premier League clash with Everton on New Year's Eve.
The Norwegian frontman opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola's side against the Toffees, with the 22-year-old grabbing his 21st goal of the Premier League season so far. The home side were comfortable in the first period, but the game was played on the edge and Haaland went down early with an injury.
He seemingly felt that the Everton players were targeting him throughout the first half, later reacting by chasing down Toffees defender Vitalii Mykolenko, before sliding in with a poor challenge - earning himself a yellow card in the process.
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Everton's players were suggesting that the 22-year-old could easily have been sent off for the tackle, and former Premier League referee Peter Walton, speaking just after the incident, felt that Haaland was lucky to remain on the pitch.
"This game has been simmering since Haaland got injured and since then Andy Madley has had a real hard time keeping control," he said on BT Sport. "It has this undercurrent.
"Haaland is going to be a very lucky man if he stays on the field because there’s a bit of frustration and he’s gone at speed, with force, probably hasn’t caught him but this looks a poor foul.
"All I said was Haaland would be a lucky man, having seen the replays it’s a yellow card but this game has an undercurrent and half-time comes at the right time for both teams."
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