Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Erling Haaland advice comes back to haunt Manchester United

Ex-Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s guidance has come back to haunt his old side after Erling Haaland’s sensational derby-day performance at the Etihad

The giant Norwegian tormented Manchester United in Sunday’s derby at the Etihad as he scored a magnificent hat-trick for Manchester City.

The Norwegian’s first-half brace and assist put City into a comfortable 4-0 half-time lead against their bitter rivals before he completed his hat-trick in the second half. It helped Pep Guardiola’s side maintain their unbeaten start to the new Premier League campaign.

But had events turned out differently the forward could have been on the opposite team for today’s encounter.

The striker was playing in his native Norway when United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer worked with him during their time together at Molde. Years later he was linked with a move to Old Trafford after his scoring exploits for Borussia Dortmund.

Speaking to Gary Neville in the build-up to today’s game, the former United defender asked Haaland: “Ole was your manager. How are you not at Manchester United?” The 22-year-old simply replied: “You have to ask him.”

United’s loss has proved to be Dortmund’s and City’s gain. 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.

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.

Speaking to Sky Sports 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.

“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.”