Erling Haaland was caught on camera berating Gianluigi Donnarumma during Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, and the Haaland Donnarumma exchange came well before the goalkeeper’s costly second-half mistake.
Enzo Maresca’s men travelled to Villa Park looking for an eighth consecutive league victory, only to find themselves a goal down inside six minutes. Nicolas Jackson pounced on a Marc Guehi error and fired home emphatically, and City had to chase the game from there.
They did fight back. Haaland headed in an Iliman Ndiaye cross in the 52nd minute to level things up, but the delight was short-lived.
What happened between Haaland and Donnarumma?
Footage from the first half shows a tetchy exchange between the pair in the 33rd minute. City had just conceded a free-kick when Guehi brought down Jackson on the counter-attack, and Villa’s players started to organise themselves just outside the penalty area.
Donnarumma briefly left his line as the set piece was being arranged and went to speak to the official, contesting the decision. Several other City players were also remonstrating with the referee at the time.
Haaland took exception to his goalkeeper straying from his goal. He was quickly spotted gesturing towards the 27-year-old, seemingly urging him to get back where he belonged.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Donnarumma was not even tested by the free-kick itself, as Johan Manzambi put the effort over.
How the Haaland Donnarumma tension played out at full-time
Haaland was clearly agitated at the final whistle, though the first-half footage suggests his frustrations had started building long before the result was settled.
The moment that decided the game came on the hour mark. Jackson struck again, unleashing a shot straight at Donnarumma, and the Italian fumbled it. The effort squirmed beneath him and into the net for 2-1, and City could not find a way back in the closing stages.
What did Maresca say about the Villa defeat?
Maresca told TNT Sports that both goals City conceded could have been avoided. Asked about it, he said: “Absolutely, both. Sometimes you have to be a bit more lucky because we only conceded those two chances, but we created a lot of chances. We played most of the game in their box.”
He added: “But you have to be clinical and avoid mistakes like the two goals we conceded. The overall performance was good. Second half, we conceded in transition. We needed to defend that a little better and be a little bit luckier in that transition but that is football. We will learn from that.”
We have already looked at why Maresca pulled Guehi and Rayan Cherki at half-time, and at the captain’s promise of a reaction after the Villa Park defeat. Before the game, our Aston Villa vs Man City preview flagged how tough this ground has been for City.
Author opinion
A striker waving at his keeper to get back on his line is hardly a crisis, and the sort of friction you see at every club when a game is going badly. Haaland had every reason to be wound up, with City trailing after an early error at the back.
Still, the footage lands differently once Donnarumma fumbles Jackson’s shot into the net. Maresca insists the performance was good and that City will learn from it. The test is whether Haaland and Donnarumma, and the rest of the side, put this behind them quickly.
