Gary Neville accuses Erling Haaland of trying to be “too clever” with horror miss

Sean McCormick
Erling Haaland

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has accused Man City star Erling Haaland of “trying to be too clever” after his horror miss in the Manchester Derby.

City headed into the Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium as heavy favorites but find themselves 1-0 down to their local rivals at half-time.

Marcus Rashford stunned the Etihad Stadium into silence with a stunning opening goal to hand Manchester United the lead and, so far, a resilient Red Devils side have held firm.

Haaland misses absolute sitter vs Manchester United

But City forward Erling Haaland had a huge chance of leveling the scores on the stroke of half-time, only to inexplicably miss when it was easier to score.

Phil Foden headed the ball across the face of goal into Haaland’s path, but the Norwegian international somehow lifted the ball over the bar, rather than into the empty net, from just two yards out.

Manchester United legend Roy Keane, who is working on the game as a pundit in the Sky Sports studio, described the miss as “unbelievable”.

But Keane’s former United team-mate, Gary Neville, who is commentating on the game, asked whether Haaland had tried to be too clever with his finish.

“Oh my Gosh,” Neville exclaimed. “What has he just done? You can’t believe that Erling Haaland has put that over the bar.

“That is a startling thing we have just seen. Does Haaland try to put it into the top of the net? Does he try to be too clever?”

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About The Author

Sean McCormick is the Sports Editor at Dexerto. He has a BA in Sports Journalism and over the last seven years has worked as a writer, reporter and an editor across titles such as Chronicle Live, Leeds Live and Manchester Evening News covering the region's football clubs and sports stars. Sean loves football, boxing, MMA, darts and NBA. You can email him here: sean.mccormick@dexerto.com