Kevin De Bruyne insists his celebration at Wolves was not done to imitate Erling Haaland - his soon to be teammate at Manchester City.
The Belgian enjoyed the most prolific night of his Premier League career, scoring four at Molineux and leaving with the match ball as City saw off Wolves 5-1 to remain in control of the title race. De Bruyne opened the scoring within seven minutes and had completed his hat-trick before the half hour mark.
His third, a rasping drive from outside the area with his left foot, flew past Jose Sa and the midfielder reeled away before pulling out a never before seen meditation gesture. It is the same pose often used by Haaland, who scores with regularity in the Bundesliga.
De Bruyne said when quizzed on his celebration: "I did a couple of interviews and they said was it [Erling] Haaland? I just did it because I scored three! That never happens." The 30-year-old has now scored 19 times in all competitions this term - making it his best goalscoring season.
Haaland previously opened up on his celebration, telling Esporte Interativo : "I really enjoy meditation. It makes feel calm and gives me tranquillity. This is why I sometimes celebrate like that when I score." City announced the move for the Norwegian this week and he will head to the Etihad this summer.
De Bruyne told Sky Sports following his display at Wolves : "I don't know you just take your opportunities, if you miss you miss. It doesn't matter, you make mistakes in the game and you go again. I'm okay with that." On the title race he added: "It is a little bit crazy, the standards we both set - you can only respect it. We know how hard it is, both teams have ultimate respect but we play hard - that's all we can do."
City have restored their three points lead at the top having seen Liverpool draw level following their win at Aston Villa on Tuesday night. The Manchester outfit's goal difference is also a huge plus, enjoying a seven goal advantage over their title rivals.
Pep Guardiola's side head to West Ham before hosting Aston Villa on the final day. Liverpool meanwhile had an FA Cup final to prepare for and then return to league action, faving Southampton and Wolves.
City are targeting a fourth league triumph in five seasons having sat top for much of the campaign. Guardiola is dealing with several injury concerns but remained focused on the job at hands. He said: “We need four points to be champion and we are going to try and get the first three on Sunday. We could have scored more. It is not about that because if we win our games goal difference is not important. We have a really tough game on Sunday, and we have incredible problems in (defence)."
