Erling Haaland admitted he would have been ‘fuming’ if Manchester City had been on the wrong end of their controversial second goal against Fulham.

With the score level at 1-1, Nathan Ake put Pep Guardiola’s side ahead with a header, though many expected it to be ruled out for offside.

Fulham’s defensive line had moved up, leaving Manuel Akanji offside as the defender jumped over the ball before it hit the back of the net.

Referee Michael Oliver awarded the goal in a decision which was not overturned by VAR, leaving Fulham players and boss Marco Silva fuming – as City then went on to run away with a dominant 5-1 victory.

Haaland, who netted his first hat-trick of the season during the victory, made an honest admission after the game as he said: ‘It was the perfect end of the week. It’s good to be back. In the end we win 5-1 and it’s well deserved. I think it was offside as well, I feel bad for them, I would be fuming after this as well. It must be a horrible feeling for them.

‘Last year was also difficult to start but we’ve been taking more points now. In the end it’s been a perfect start because we’ve won four games, but we have a much higher level and it’s about working towards that.’

Oliver after consulting with his assistant decided that Akanji hadn’t sought to gain an advantage despite feinting to get the ball and raise a leg which appeared to influence Fulham keeper Bernd Leno. 

VAR official Tony Harrington decided no error had been made so it didn’t merit Oliver watching again pitch-side.

However, prior to the restart, the goal was shown on the giants screens at the Etihad, prompting pandemonium among the Fulham players and a long delay, as the rather obvious offside was seemingly clear to all. 

Fulham boss Silva after the game said: ‘What I can say is that everyone that plays football, that has played football that has some knowledge about football is one hundred per cent sure that you disallow that goal. Of course, anyone would be furious if a goal like that comes against you.

‘For the linesman, it can be difficult. Is he in an offside position, can he see or not? But for the VAR it’s impossible not to disallow that goal. 

‘It’s clear he [Akanji] is in the line of the ball. He pulled away from the line of the ball in the direction of the goal and influenced completely the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper’s reaction. Its’ a clear offside and this is what will concern anyone in football. How that goal was allowed by the VAR?’

Mail Sport’s Chris Foy said that Oliver would have ruled out Ake’s goal if he had been sent to his screen. 

Croatian model Ivana Knoll has made a name for herself posing at some of the biggest football matches of the season, but she got up close and personal with one of the sport’s megastars whilst holidaying in Ibiza on Friday. 

The so-called ‘World Cup’s sexiest fan’ shared a picture of her running with Manchester City‘s Treble-winning starlet Erling Haaland after the pair bumped into one another at the exclusive Playa Soleil beach club in Ibiza. 

Both Haaland and Knoll beamed as they struck a pose beachside, no doubt enjoying the sunshine at the recently-launched Balearic hotspot. 

But the Norwegian behemoth didn’t give away much more – hiding most of his face behind a vast pair of white-framed sunglasses. 

The former Miss Croatia burst into the public eye as one of the most avid and eye-catching fans at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and saw her star rise again at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, as the model followed her national team devotedly through their campaign in Doha. 

The influencer sported a number of red-and-white checkered outfits that paid homage to the Croatian side and her favourite players, including captain Luka Modric.

More recently, Knoll took in Croatia’s heartbreaking Nations League final loss against Spain, and snagged a highly-prized ticket to the Champions League final in Istanbul. 

There, Knoll would have first spotted Haaland in the flesh – after Norway missed out on World Cup qualification – as the 52-goal striker clinched a historic Treble win with Pep Guardiola’s side after beating Inter Milan 1-0. 

After concluding his titanic 2022-23 campaign with a string of Euro 2024 qualification matches, Haaland has spent a large chunk of his off-season in Spain. 

The 22-year-old was one of a number of Man City players invited to Spain international Aymeric Laporte’s wedding to his compatriot Sara Botello. 

He also owns a villa in Marbella, where the player enjoys spending whatever free time he has amid a packed fixtures schedule. 

Haaland and his friends arrived in Ibiza earlier on Friday – wasting no time in starting their holiday with a trip to Playa Soleil – but this is his second visit in the space of a month. 

Earlier in June, Haaland and his team-mates enjoyed a whistlestop 12-hour party trip to the legendary Spanish isle after winning the Champions League. 

The resulting festivities ran into the team’s soaking-wet celebrations atop an open-top parade bus as Guardiola’s side enjoyed their mammoth achievements with their fans in their home city.