Manchester City international Norwegian striker Erling Haaland appeared in press statements following the 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the sixth round of the Champions League group stage.

Haaland said after the match: "It's difficult to play here, it's a very tough stadium. The match was a bit chaotic and we couldn't control it as we should. In the end, we secured the win, and I am very happy about that."

He added: "This is the place you want to play in, and these are the matches you want to participate in. With the new Champions League format, you play more matches, which is great. I like that."

He continued: "The situation could have looked completely different today if we hadn't won, especially after the loss to Leverkusen. This win is very important. We have two matches left, and we have to finish them strongly, and hopefully, we will be among the top eight because that means direct qualification."

He further said: "Was there extra motivation seeing Kylian Mbappé out of the lineup? We know very well their situation with injuries, and we have some injuries too, but they have many. You don't want any player to get injured, but we were expecting him to play. I expected to face Kylian today; when a player like him is absent — you are not happy because you want to play against the best — but it gives you a slight psychological boost."

He emphasized: "You want to face the best players, and after just one minute, (Raúl) Asensio was trying to push me and get into physical clashes with me, which is something I personally like and don't mind. And with Rüdiger, we have had great battles before, but today he really wanted to win... and in the end, we got the penalty."

He concluded regarding the competition with Arsenal for the top of the English Premier League: "I don't like to talk much about that. We have to focus on ourselves, and that is what distinguishes City over the past ten years — not thinking about others and focusing only on ourselves. Now we have to think about Sunday’s match... Who will we face? Crystal Palace on Sunday. Matches come quickly. Just look at the schedule, it’s amazing, and it’s about maintaining fitness and dealing with each match individually, and hopefully, we will win on Sunday."