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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Erling Haaland advice comes back to haunt Man Utd

Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have inadvertently cost his old side in their most recent derby day humiliation away at Manchester City.

Erling Haaland bagged yet another hat-trick for Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad for their 6-3 drubbing of the Red Devils. His first came in the form of a bullet header, getting the better of his marker Christian Eriksen to muster up enough power on the effort for it to go over the line despite the attempted clearance from Tyrell Malacia.

While fans from all over the continent have now grown accustomed to seeing Haaland score just about every type of goal, heading was undoubtedly his weak spot early on in his career. That was until Solskjaer intervened with some expertise.

Ahead of the derby, Haaland recalled improving his game under the United legend. "When I was in my hometown club, Bryne, I couldn't head the ball," the Norwegian conceded to Sky Sports.

"I wasn't scared of it, but when you're really new to something, you're wondering how to do it. Then when I joined Molde with Ole, he was like 'you cannot head, we have to start doing this'. So almost every single day, I got crosses from him and [assistant coach] Mark Dempsey and I was heading them in.

"Mark was throwing the ball quite easily, I was standing at five metres [out] and he was in the goal. I tired to head it straight and we did it so much. There's nothing better than when you practise something and you see the results, thinking 'this is getting easier' or finally scoring a goal with your head."

The 22-year-old's next two strikes against Erik ten Hag's troops both came from his left boot, neither of which gave United shot-stopper David de Gea a chance.

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick against United, one of which was a header ((Photo by Matt McNulty - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images))

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Haaland's goal-scoring exploits are bordering on the absurd, with the former Borussia Dortmund striker now sitting on 14 league goals already in just eight games.

His treble against United marked his third successive home hat-trick, the first time that feat has ever been achieved in Premier League history. Throughout Solskjaer's time as the man in the Old Trafford hot-seat, speculation was rife suggesting that Haaland would reunite with him.

However, a move failed to materialise and Haaland now plies his trade in the other half of the city. It was his performance, alongside fellow hat-trick hero Phil Foden that truly highlighted the gulf in quality between the two teams.

The emphatic City win also keeps Guardiola's men within touching distance of league leaders Arsenal, who remain one point in front eight games in.

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