Erling Haaland busts Leeds United myth with two-word statement after missing Elland Road return

Erling Haaland busts Leeds United myth with two-word statement after missing Elland Road return
Erling Haaland was forced to miss Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Leeds United due to a training issue, but the striker responded on social media with a supportive message for his teammates

Erling Haaland took to social media to celebrate Manchester City’s hard‑fought 1–0 win over Leeds United, despite missing the return to Elland Road.

News of the Norwegian’s absence became public shortly before the team announcement, prompting several Leeds fans on Twitter to claim he had pulled out because he didn’t want to face his beloved Leeds.

But he was in fact absent from the clash after picking up a knock in training during the week.

The injury is not thought to be serious, with hopes that Haaland could be fit in time for Wednesday’s home fixture against Nottingham Forest, although manager Pep Guardiola was reluctant to commit to a definitive return date.

Speaking to the BBC following the final whistle, Guardiola said: “We don’t have spies in the training centre to deliver the info to our media. I think it is not a big issue. We will see.”

Even from the sidelines, the 25‑year‑old quickly shared the result on Snapchat, dismissing Leeds fans’ claims with a fist‑clenched selfie captioned: “So important,” alongside prayer and blue‑heart emojis.

He also took to Instagram to repost City’s official update reading: “A hard‐fought victory”, adding a blue heart emoji in response.

With Haaland sidelined, Rayan Cherki came into the starting line-up and played an influential role in the winning goal.

Reflecting on the result, Guardiola said: “A huge victory for us. Erling is a massively important player for us, but we behaved really well. Leeds are so intense.

“After that we did what we are good at for the last decade, a thousand million passes, and make the vibe of the crowd a little bit calmer.”

Leeds remain in 15th, but 16th‑placed Tottenham still have their trip to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, and a Spurs win would move them above the Whites.

Daniel Farke’s side then return to Elland Road for another home fixture, this time against Sunderland on Tuesday (March 3, 7:30pm).

Erling Haaland hasn’t made a two-word statement about missing his Elland Road return, but he’s definitely got a special connection with Leeds United. The Manchester City striker was born in Leeds and even grew up supporting the team, with his father Alf-Inge Haaland playing for them ¹ ².

Haaland’s been in top form, and his absence from the recent match against Leeds United was due to injury. Pep Guardiola, his manager, mentioned that he’d miss the game, but Haaland’s focus is on getting back fit ³.

In other news, Leeds United recently lost 2-1 to Manchester City at Elland Road, with Haaland’s presence definitely missed ⁴.