Erling Haaland breaks his silence on new celebration - and who did it better out of him and Peter Crouch

Erling Haaland has hinted that his new robot celebration is a playful response to those who tease him about his astonishing statistics.

The Norwegian striker, 25, debuted the move after scoring the opener against Bournemouth at the Etihad over the weekend, marking his 97th goal in 107 appearances since joining Manchester City in May 2022. He added a second just 16 minutes later, bringing his tally up to 98.

Haaland currently leads the Golden Boot standings with 13 goals from the opening 10 Premier League games, while he has also scored eight times for Norway in World Cup qualifying, taking his country to the brink of next year’s tournament.

It is only the third time a player has reached that tally in the top-flight this early in a season, following Les Ferdinand in 1995-96 and Haaland himself three years ago. 

Haaland's remarkable numbers have led many to describe him as 'superhuman', and the City striker explained the inspiration behind his new robot dance.

In a nod to the famous celebration made iconic by Peter Crouch, Haaland told TNT: ‘I think Crouch (did it) a little bit better than me, but I think the whole point of the celebration was really good for my side.’

TNT Sports presenter Jules Breach asked him to elaborate, and Haaland replied: ‘You know the reason.’

‘People calling you a robot, people calling you not human?’ she suggested, prompting a wide grin and a knowing shrug from Haaland.

He added: ‘Yeah, I’ve said it before. There’s a reason why I came. I knew I was going to come in here and perform. And with Pep (Guardiola), it’s been going really well and hopefully it’s going to get even better.’

Crouch first performed the robot celebration 19 years ago after scoring for England in a friendly against Hungary and repeated it days later in a win over Jamaica. The former 42-cap England star even reacted on X following Haaland's dance, writing: 'I walked so they could run,' alongside a tensing robotic arm and robot emoji.

Manchester City's win against Bournemouth took them to second in the top flight, six points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Speaking after the match, Haaland said: 'It is an important win. It is good to bounce back after losing a bad away game (against Aston Villa). It was nice.

'I tried to contribute for the team by doing my job. It is good to win. Now we have two more important games to come, so we have to keep focusing.

'I didn't score in our last game and I always try to help the team to win. That's my goal and whether that's by scoring or winning duels, it doesn't matter.

'I want to help the team become better. That is my job.'

This was the fourth consecutive Premier League home match in which Haaland has scored multiple goals. Only two other players have achieved the feat: former Liverpool forwards Robbie Fowler and Luis Suarez.