Erling Haaland joked with a member of Borussia Dortmund's staff after scoring the winner on Wednesday night as he asked them not to "beat him up".
The Norwegian was squaring off against his former team just months after leaving them for a new challenge in England. The German side know all about how prolific Haaland can be after he scored 86 times for them in 89 games. He has now carried on that form with City.
His 84th minute winner completed a turnaround at the Etihad after Jude Bellingham had put Dortmund ahead. Haaland came across a member of the Bundesliga club's staff in the tunnel and, with a smile, jokingly said "don't beat me up" as he kept on walking.
Haaland's acrobatic finish was his 13th goal of the season in 10 games and ensured City kept up their 100% record in Europe. John Stones scored a sensational equaliser but the Norwegian joked that his strike was more impressive.
He said: "They (Dortmund) didn’t stop me - I scored. But they played well. They were good. I was quite sure I was going to be followed the whole game because Edin Terzic [Dortmund boss] knows me very well. Dortmund were really good today. But the three points are what matters.
"In the end we showed what we are. This is what we are and this is how we have to play. I'm proud of the last 20, 25 minutes. We scored two wonderful goals – mine was a bit better, honestly! It was a nice cross from Cancelo."
Pep Guardiola also hailed the finish of his striker, as he compared his acrobatics to the great Johan Cruyff, after he turned home Joao Cancelo's cross. The Catalan said:"Maybe the people who know me know the influence Johan Cruyff had on my life as a person, a mentor and years ago he scored an incredible goal in Camp Nou for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid.
"The moment Erling scored I thought it was quite, quite similar. I remember my dear friend Ibrahimovic, who has this ability to put the leg on the roof, and Erling is quite similar in that. I think it is his nature, he is elastic, he is flexible and after has the ability to make contact and put the ball in the net. I think his mum and dad give him that flexibility."
Bellingham, who has previously been teaming up with Haaland, conceded that the Norwegian only needed a half chance to assert his influence on the game. He told BT Sport: "That shows his quality, he's not always in the game, but you know if you give him half a sniff he can get a goal and that's what he done tonight.
