UEFA and Marca present their versions: Why Haaland's goal against Real Madrid was accepted as legal

The reason why Erling Haaland's goal for Manchester City against Real Madrid was allowed to stand has been revealed.

On Tuesday night, the Champions League play-off matches took place with reigning champions Madrid taking on City at the Etihad Stadium.

After Carlo Ancelotti's men missed several good chances to take the lead, City took the lead through Haaland in the 19th minute.

At first glance, the City player appeared to be offside, but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was allowed.

But some fans were not convinced by the decision.

Read too Spectacle and controversy in the first 45 minutes at the Etihad: City goes into the break with a minimal lead, Real Madrid requested a goal disallowance

Reacting on social media, one fan said: "REAL MADRID was robbed! Explain to me how this Erling Haaland goal was allowed! You don't even need machines here to draw the line to know that he was clearly offside!"

Another tweeted: "Haaland is clearly offside. How is this a goal? VAR City strikes again."

That's the action of City's goal. Lo que está en fuera de juego es la mano y con eso no se puede rematar de manera legal. Por lo tanto, posición reglamentaria pic.twitter.com/aOcvMAMy8s

- BRAND (@mark) February 11, 2025

A third fan added: "Haaland was in front of the ball."

However, a replay by UEFA later showed that Haaland was in fact behind the ball, meaning he was in an offside position.

Spanish newspaper MARCA explained on social media: "There is an action that led to City's goal. What is offside is handball and you cannot legally end it with that. Therefore, it is a legal position." /Telegraph/