Kevin De Bruyne says his goal celebration for his hat-trick strike against Wolves was not intended as a statement on incoming Manchester City signing Erling Haaland.
De Bruyne scored his first City hat-trick in 17 first-half minutes, curling home a sensational third on 24 minutes, to put the Blues in control at Wolves. His celebration for the third goal sent City fans wild as he appeared to copy Haaland's iconic celebration just one day after news that the Borussia Dortmund striker will join the club in the summer.
Speaking after the game, De Bruyne said he only knew of the Haaland connection when asked in interviews.
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Discussing the best goal of his four, De Bruyne told Sky Sports: "The third one, that strike is the cleanest, I hit it really hard in the corner. That was the purest.
"I did a couple of interviews and they said 'was it Haaland?, I just did it because I scored three, that never happens! You just take your opportunity, if you miss you miss, you go again."
With City moving three points ahead of Liverpool in the title race, with just two games remaining, De Bruyne said his side are only focussing on the next game - a difficult trip to West Ham.
He said: "It's crazy, the standards we both set you can only respect it. They've played everything until the end of the season. We know how hard it is, both teams have ultimate respect, we play hard.
"That's all we can do, we have to prepare. West Ham won't be easy, we try to go there and win the game"
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