Erling Haaland had to be held back by Gianluigi Donnarumma during a spat with Italy defender Gianluca Mancini – before firing two goals in as many minutes beyond his Manchester City team-mate.
Haaland led Norway to an impressive 4-1 victory over the Azzurri at the San Siro, helping his side secure a flawless qualification to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
The Norwegians came into the tie atop their World Cup Qualifying group, knowing that unless they lost to Italy by nine goals, they would be all but home and dry for next summer’s tournament.
But Haaland and his team-mates booked their ticket to North America in stylish fashion after going a goal down, with strikes from the Man City man, Antonio Nusa and Jorgen Strand Larsen putting Italy to the sword.
It wasn’t all straightforward, though, with Donnarumma and his defenders keeping the bloodthirsty Norway frontline at bay in a tight first 45 minutes.
And frustrations boiled over shortly before half time when Haaland and Roma defender Mancini exchanged some heated words, prompting the 6ft 5in Italy stopper to intervene.
Erling Haaland was held back by Gianluigi Donnarumma during a spat with Gianluca Mancini
The Norwegian striker had been frustrated in a tight first half but scored a second half double
He bagged two goals in as many minutes – leaving his City team-mate Donnarumma stunned
However, the spat seemed to only serve as motivation for the City striker who bagged two second half goals, taking his total for the qualifiers to a scarcely believable 16 goals in just eight games.
His first was an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net after latching onto an Oscar Bobb pass. His second, less than a minute later, was a close range finish that silenced the San Siro and left Donnarumma stunned as the big striker wheeled away with glee.
While Italy knew they would never put nine past Norway, the nature of their second half capitulation left their fans enraged – only worsened by Wolves man Strand Larsen’s 93rd-minute sickener.
For Haaland, who is the top scorer for this iteration of the World Cup Qualifiers across all continents, he will follow in his father’s Alf Inge’s footsteps of leading Norway out at a World Cup.
Italy, meanwhile, will be forced to try their luck in a playoff match if they want to make it to their first World Cup since 2014.
