“He didn't feel good” - Pep Guardiola makes worrying admission after taking off Haaland early in Manchester City loss to Barcelona
Pep Guardiola has revealed that Manchester City star Erling Haaland is dealing with a niggle. The manager stated that they did not want to risk the striker in the second half of their loss to Barcelona in pre-season.
Speaking to the media after the game, Guardiola stated that Haaland was not comfortable and needed to be substituted. He does not want to see the striker sidelined for 3-4 weeks by risking him in a pre-season game and said (via GOAL):
"Erling is not comfortable. We don't want to take risks. But sooner or later he has to take a step with training and minutes. The season is there, around the corner. He has niggles, muscular, we don't want to take a risk and lose him for three weeks or a month. That would be a problem."
"He didn't feel good and that's why he didn't play the second half. Sixty-seventy percent of the squad are on holiday. That's why we need the players. At the same time, we have alternatives, Oscar [Bobb] makes an incredible job again. We're pleased with many things," he added.
Incidentally, Erling Haaland was also taken off at half time during Manchester City's previous friendly against AC Milan. The Cityzens are winless in their pre-season matches so far. They lost 3-4 to Celtic, 2-3 to AC Milan and now lost in the shootout to Barcelona.
Manchester City will be starting slow this season, admits Pep Guardiola
Manchester City are yet to welcome all their top players back this season and are using academy players in the pre-season matches. Pep Guardiola has admitted that he will need to give his players time to recover as their schedule has been jampacked.
He said (via Optus Sport):
"We will arrive late but not [just] against Manchester United [in the Community Shield], against Chelsea and Ipswich too. We will be late. It's about trying not to drop many points, try to compete well. We don't have players because they have to rest."
"If the big bosses and all the institutions like FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League don't think about the players then the managers have to think about them, otherwise they will die. It's too much. That's why three weeks or one month is necessary, but the competition is there and you have to adapt," he added.
Manchester City will face Chelsea twice in the next two weeks. They face off in a pre-season friendly this Saturday (3 August) and then start their Premier League campaign at Stamford Bridge on the 18 August. They will face Manchester United in the FA Community Shield on 10 August.