Erling Haaland accuses Chelsea star of trampling on him 'all the time'

Erling Haaland has accused Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez of trampling him “all the time” after helping Manchester City win at Stamford Bridge. The towering Norwegian forward lifted the ball over Robert Sanchez from close range to give Pep Guardiola's men the lead.

Chelsea responded by upping the tempo and thought they had equalised through Nicolas Jackson just before the break, but the goal was ruled out by the assistant referee. The result was confirmed in the dying minutes when Mateo Kovacic found the back of the net to give City all three points.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the final whistle, Haaland was quick to accuse Fernandez of taking an authoritarian approach in their individual battles.

“He's always stepping on me, pushing me and everything,” the City forward said. “Not just him. I don't know what they want but that's what they do, I guess.”

Haaland tangled with Fernandez in the dying minutes of the game, with the Chelsea playmaker shoving him to the ground as he marked him in the box. They exchanged some harsh words before parting ways, with no love lost between the pair on the Stamford Bridge pitch.

The result gave City a perfect start to their Premier League title defence, but they had to dig deep at times to equalise against Chelsea. Pep Guardiola was delighted with the way his players held firm before scoring an insurance goal in the dying minutes.

“I didn't expect it,” the City manager said. “We're a long way from our best, so three points is good news. The bad news is we've got 65 games ahead of us.”

“We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well. Of course there are mistakes and we have to improve but we talked, the difference to be champions was our body language, how we behaved? It's the bad moments of the season and the games that define the great teams.

“For me, it's an honor to be in charge of these guys. I'm so lucky that I can't say more than that. There's a plan, defensively, offensively, but then it's how you celebrate the good times and come back from the bad times. That's what defines these teams and nobody talks about it.”