Erling Haaland did not play a single minute, yet he ended up as the most talked-about figure of Manchester City’s Carabao Cup night. Once City had sealed their place in the next round on penalties, the Norwegian walked onto the pitch dressed in the style of a villain from Home Alone and broke into a series of dance moves, producing one of the most widely shared videos of the past few hours.
A celebration on the Etihad pitch
Haaland was filmed dancing on the pitch after City’s shootout victory over Brighton on Wednesday. Although he had been rested by manager Enzo Maresca, he joined his teammates on the pitch as they celebrated, and the footage spread rapidly across social media.
Erling Haaland is loving it 🕺 https://t.co/p5O5O7udGQ
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 28, 2026
Why Haaland sat out
Haaland was not part of Maresca’s plans for the fourth-round tie, which brought together the last 16 teams in the competition. He was one of five key players, along with Elliot Anderson, Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol and Gianluigi Donnarumma, left out of the squad after being given extra days off by the Italian coach. The break followed City’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa the previous weekend. In total, Maresca made nine changes to his starting line-up.
How City reached the quarter-finals
City had a scare on the night. Brighton led twice, and the match finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, sending the tie straight to penalties. Malick Yalcouyé put the visitors ahead after around half an hour, turning in a low ball from Georginio Rutter, and Rutter himself restored Brighton’s lead two minutes after the restart. Mateo Kovačić and Vitor Reis scored City’s equalisers.
The shootout belonged to goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli. After Jason Steele saved City’s fourth penalty from Kovačić, Rulli denied Yasin Ayari, Rayan Cherki scored, and the Argentine then stopped Lewis Dunk’s effort to seal a 4-3 win on penalties. It was only his second appearance for the club.
What comes next
City, the competition’s holders, will host League One side Bradford City in the quarter-finals, with the tie scheduled for the week beginning 14 December. Before that, the two clubs meet again on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium, this time in the Premier League.
Not the first viral moment
Haaland has built a strong following off the pitch. Last year, he was filmed undergoing a professional make-up and costume transformation into the Joker, visiting shops around Manchester as a Halloween prank. Since launching his YouTube channel in October 2025, he has gathered 4.5 million subscribers and 224 million views.
The Home Alone reference is also not new. When he unveiled a drastic new haircut in August, Haaland joked that he looked like Kevin, the character played by Macaulay Culkin in the film.
