Pep Guardiola offered a positive injury update on Erling Haaland after Manchester City’s win over Newcastle. City moved into the top four of the Premier League with a 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium, as Omar Marmoush scored a first-half hat-trick and James McAtee came off the bench to get on the scoresheet late on. It had been a perfect afternoon for City until Haaland was forced off with a couple of minutes of normal time remaining.
The striker, who captained the side for the first time, jarred his knee as he went to close down Fabian Schar and went down in pain. He came straight off but took a seat on the bench rather than going down the tunnel, and Guardiola was optimistic after the match that Haaland had avoided a significant injury. "When he went down everyone was scare,” Guardiola said. “But he walked off smiling and the doctor didn’t tell me bad news so hopefully he is fine.”.
City will hope to have Haaland available on Wednesday night when they travel to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. A 3-2 defeat in the home leg has left Guardiola’s side with plenty of work to do if they are to reach the last-16 of the Champions League. The win over Newcastle ensured they will go into that match in confident mood, with Guardiola particularly impressed by Nico Gonzalez. The midfielder was making his Premier League debut after joining from Porto last month.
