There is an amusing – or potentially irritating – reason behind one of Erling Haaland’s celebrations against Ipswich.
Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City came from behind to trounce Premier League freshmen Ipswich Town 4-1.
The second of those came after just 16 minutes as he overturned Ipswich’s Sammie Szmodics-inspired lead, the former Blackburn star nabbing his first goal for the club.
And for his celebration, fans were treated to Haaland bouncing around with his arms held wide before he punched the corner flag.
Perhaps the most ecstatic person to see that will have been YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI, who had urged Haaland to do the celebration in one of his videos.
Erling Haaland’s celebration – which you can watch in the attached video – was inspired by KSI
KSI had instructed Haaland to celebrate in the way he boxes by bouncing around and punching the corner flag
Haaland agreed to attempt KSI’s celebration, though his iteration was slightly less flamboyant
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‘Haaland actually did the celebration haha,’ wrote KSI on X after encouraging the striker to dance ‘how I fight’.
In truth Haaland did not follow KSI’s instructions to the letter – the YouTuber’s style is more of a star jump pose, but the Norwegian’s arms did not reach those stratospheric heights.
While some of his grumbling detractors might be concerned to see KSI’s influence near penetrating the Premier League, there were plenty of fans delighted to see Haaland channelling his inner social media star.
‘It lowkey looked sick,’ wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Haaland is slowly becoming my fav player,’ another said.
‘Love a good celebration, adds the perfect touch to the game,’ said one.
Others did not want the YouTuber interfering with their forward’s focus.
‘Why he celebrated too much in this game,’ one said.
Fans had mixed views surrounding KSI’s interference with Haaland’s matchday antics
‘Don’t make Haaland a joker mate,’ another wrote.
Of course, somebody else might be able to claim credit as inspiration: Tim Cahill. Punching the corner flag was the Australian’s trademark celebration during his eight seasons with Everton.
City shot to the top of the table with their 4-1 win, usurping Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton despite them snatching a late 2-1 victory over Manchester United.
Haaland has already scored four goals this season, putting himself two clear at the top of the standings, after also netting in the 2-0 triumph over Chelsea last weekend.
As for Ipswich, their season will not be measured by their results against Liverpool and City.
The Tractor Boys are second-bottom after two defeats but upcoming fixtures against Fulham, Brighton, and Southampton will provide a clearer indication of how well they have stepped up from the Championship over the summer.