Erling Haaland has never been sent off in his professional career. He knows where the line is. But that does not mean he is afraid to cross it — at least emotionally — when defenders push him past his limit.

After scoring twice in Manchester City's 2-0 victory over Porto on Tuesday, Haaland revealed the fiery edge that has become an increasingly prominent feature of his game. He was referring to a late clash with Porto defender Pablo Rosario, who hauled Haaland to the ground in the 93rd minute as the Norwegian roamed towards goal without the ball.

"I was really keen on a hat-trick, and it seemed like he was very eager to stop me from getting it," Haaland told TV2. "It was a little interesting, that. You'll be seeing a picture where he's grabbing my ass… it'll be interesting to see that picture."

Indeed, footage confirmed the incident. As Haaland attempted to get back to his feet — albeit with a handful of the defender's shirt — Rosario grabbed the striker's backside. Haaland wagged his finger, making clear he felt a line had been crossed, and was visibly incensed.

A Feature That Has Grown

The clash with Rosario highlights a fiery edge to Haaland that has become particularly prominent over the past 12 months or so, most likely a result of City playing long balls to him. It puts him up against the Premier League's biggest defenders, such as Dan Burn and Gabriel. Three of Haaland's five goals in City's last four matches have been headers — an area of his game that was always a relative weakness but has suddenly improved. He says he has been practising them, even in the garden with his dad.

"We cannot concede half-metres to the best striker in the world," Porto coach Francesco Farioli said on Tuesday night, and it means Haaland is often subjected to all manner of rough tactics.

Refereed Differently?

Since signing for City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland has been fouled 95 times in the Premier League and has committed 98 fouls himself. His previous manager Pep Guardiola has been baffled by the treatment his striker receives.

"He's the only striker I've seen in my life that makes more fouls to defenders than defenders to him," Guardiola said earlier this year. "I never saw that. In the beginning of the season, the referees said it would be the opposite. Still, it's completely the opposite, honestly. Every time Erling touches the opponent, it's a foul from Erling. So, I don't understand."

It is for that reason Haaland looked so incredulous as he saw Tuesday night's referee beckoning him over. He knew what was about to happen and could not believe it. Defenders seem to be given licence to use all manner of rough tactics to deal with him, while Haaland often appears to be refereed more strictly — whenever he uses his frame, it does not take much for a foul to be given.

"Another day at the office," Haaland posted on Instagram in February, alongside an image of him battling with Newcastle's Burn.

The Shaquille O'Neal Parallels

Haaland's treatment by defenders is reminiscent of legendary NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, who opposition teams would regularly foul on purpose because he was relatively weak at shooting the resultant free throws. It was seen as a risk worth taking. The league later changed its rules but not to O'Neal's benefit — it legalised zone defence, which enabled two or more opposition players to guard him, making his life harder.

Speaking on the "Shaq" documentary released in 2022, a former NBA official admitted he and his colleagues had to learn how to referee O'Neal and that he should have received far more fouls than he was actually given. Occasionally, O'Neal lost his cool and lashed out.

There are obvious parallels with Haaland. Another is that the rough treatment they receive often only makes them better. O'Neal, speaking in that documentary, would regularly explain how he was able to find extra gears when he was "p***ed off" — and it is very similar with Haaland.

Fuel From the Fire

"At 1-1, he started grabbing my ass, and I thought, 'What are you doing?'" Haaland told TV2 last November, after a running battle with Italy's Gianluca Mancini while playing for Norway. "So I fired myself up a bit and said to him, 'Thanks a lot for the motivation, let's f***ing have it.' Then I scored two goals; we won 4–1, so that's great. Thanks to him!"

The pattern is well established. Former Everton defender Conor Coady recalled their approach to Haaland in his debut season: "We said before the game: we'll get into him, hard as we can, get into him, first one, bang, as soon as you can. So two minutes into the game, Ben (Godfrey) goes bang, right into the back of his ankle. So Haaland's down. Next minute, we are stood organising, talking, and he gets up, makes a beeline for me and says, 'Was that you?' and I pointed to Ben and said, 'It was him!'"

The 'foul' — which was not actually awarded — came after just seven seconds of the game. Haaland soon barged into Godfrey as revenge and celebrated in the defender's face when he put City 1-0 up. The running battle continued throughout.

He often sends a sarcastic thank you to opposition defenders who rile him up. After a 0-0 draw with Inter in the Champions League in 2024, he asked Francesco Acerbi if he wanted his shirt, given how much the Italian had been clinging to him. Last season, he relished thanking Brentford's Sepp van den Berg for motivating him to score an early winner.

"The first five minutes, he kept on pushing me, so I thought, 'Alright, let's have it'," Haaland told Sky Sports. "Then I started pushing him back. I think it helps me because, to be honest, I was a bit tired going into the game. I was thinking it's going to be a tough game, but then after 10 seconds he started pushing me and he started motivating me, so all praise to him, honestly. He made me want to do that."

When the Fire Goes Out

It is similar to how Shaq would sometimes be playing below his level until he was sparked into life by rough treatment. There are matches when Haaland can look far less imposing than he is capable of. He was criticised by Guardiola last season for not challenging Virgil van Dijk anywhere near enough at Anfield in February, and was mocked by supporters at Old Trafford in January after being kept quiet by Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire.

Those performances came around the time he was described as "exhausted" by Guardiola, and while Haaland admitted on Tuesday to finding it difficult to move on mentally from Norway's run to the World Cup quarter-finals, he seems to have started this season up for the fight.

And that is when Haaland is at his most dangerous.