Asked for an update on Haaland after the second-leg loss in Madrid, in which new signing Nico Gonzalez scored a late consolation goal in stoppage time, City boss Guardiola said: “Erling, yesterday, tried to train after the action against Newcastle in the last minutes.
Haaland was pictured taking part in City training on Monday and was then named in the squad that flew to Spain for the crucial second-leg decider in their Champions League knockout play-off round tie against Real Madrid, in which they trailed 3-2 despite the Norwegian’s brace at the Etihad Stadium last week.
However, despite that, Haaland was named only as a substitute at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night and, like Kevin De Bruyne, did not come off the bench at all as a stylish Kylian Mbappe hat-trick condemned City to a 6-3 aggregate defeat and saw the 2022/23 winners crash out of Europe’s revamped elite club competition before the knockout rounds proper.
Pep Guardiola has issued a new update on Erling Haaland’s fitness ahead of the huge Premier League showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool.
The reigning Golden Boot winner suffered a knee issue towards the end of last weekend’s 4-0 home rout of Newcastle, appearing in some discomfort as he was replaced three minutes from time by midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
