Haaland pulls out robot celebration after scoring again for Man City

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is a scoring machine — and his new goal celebration reflects it.

After netting the first of his two goals in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday, Haaland wheeled away and came to a stop before making moves like a robot.

The prolific Norway striker likes to celebrate his goals in different ways. Perhaps his best-known is the yoga meditation pose while sitting down, while he has also been seen pointing one finger to his ear and the other hand toward the sky.

Haaland recently said he is in the form of his life. He now has 26 goals in 16 games for club and country this season, and has scored two goals in each of his last four home league games for City.

His competition-high 13 Premier League goals is more than twice any other player has managed this season.

“I try to contribute to the team by doing my job,” Haaland said, “and yeah, we won again. That’s when everyone’s happy, so that’s what we try to do."

“I didn’t score in the last game (against Aston Villa)," he added, "so again I try to help the team to win, that's my goal. By scoring or helping by winning duels, doesn’t matter, as long as we win. That’s what I want to do.”

Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks said it was “almost impossible” to stop Haaland.

“Obviously he's 6-foot-5 (1.95 meters), he's absolutely rapid, strong, he's brilliant in the air. A fantastic player,” Brooks said. “For large parts of the game I thought we did very well but obviously he's a massive threat when the ball's falling to him anywhere.”

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Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, left, celebrates with Erling Haaland after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland scores his side's second goal past Bournemouth's goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

BOSTON (AP) — New England Patriots star wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with a dispute with his former private chef, police said.

News of the charges emerged after a court hearing Tuesday in Dedham, Massachusetts. Diggs is charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery.

Diggs’ lawyer, David Meier, said in an emailed statement that Diggs “categorically denies these allegations.”

Meier said the allegations never occurred, describing them as unsubstantiated and uncorroborated.

“The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction,” Meier wrote.

In a statement, the Patriots said they were also standing by Diggs: “We support Stefon,” the team said.

A police narrative in a court filing about the case said a woman came to the Dedham Police Department on Dec. 16 to say that two weeks earlier, while working as a private chef for Diggs, he came into her bedroom and became angry during a discussion about money. The woman told police Diggs “smacked her across the face,” she tried to push him away and then he “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck.”

“She said that he was behind her with his arm wrapped around her,” wrote Officer Kenneth J. Ellis. “She said that she did feel like she had trouble breathing and that she felt like she could have blacked out.” Diggs threw her on a bed and said “lies” when she told him she had not been paid, Ellis wrote.

The chef sought payment for a week in November when Diggs was having houseguests and she had to go home, Ellis wrote. The woman “left her position” and the home in Dedham but returned on Dec. 9 to retrieve her property. At that point, she told police, Diggs referred her to his assistant, who told the woman she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before she would be paid. She did not sign it, police said.

The woman was reluctant to file charges until last week, Ellis wrote, when “she let me know that she had changed her mind from a few days ago” and wanted criminal charges.

Diggs, 32, established himself as one of the NFL’s best wide receivers during a run with Minnesota and Buffalo from 2018 to 2023, when he had six consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl four times.

After a lackluster stint in Houston last year, Diggs ended up in New England, signing a three-year, $69 million deal in free agency that guaranteed him $26 million.

Diggs has proven a reliable target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye and is a big reason why the team has once again clinched the AFC East title as the team heads toward the playoffs.

Off the field, though, his tenure with the Patriots got off to a rocky start when a video surfaced on social media in May showing Diggs passing what appeared to be a bag of pink crystals to women on a boat.

It wasn’t clear what the substance was, and an NFL spokesperson said the league would not comment. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said the team would handle that matter internally.

FILE - New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) leaves the field following an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Nov 23, 2025, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit, File)

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) runs against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)