Erling Haaland suffered an injury against (Image: Getty)
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland did not suffer a serious injury after he went down late in the win over .
Haaland hit the deck unopposed four minutes from time and was quickly substituted. But Guardiola does not expect the forward to be sidelined.
“When he went down everyone was scared but he walked off smiling and the doctor didn’t tell me bad news so hopefully he is fine [to face Real Madrid on Wednesday],” the City boss said.
Haaland captained City for the first time but it was new January signing Omar Marmoush who stole the limelight.
The Egyptian netted a hat-trick inside the opening 33 minutes to set the Blues well on their way. Skipper Haaland assisted James McAtee for the fourth on the 84th minute – two minutes before he was brought off with the injury scare.
“Haaland has signed a 10 year contract, so I have the feeling about him as captain. I am really happy for him,” Guardiola added.
The City boss also singled out all three new signings after his team moved up to fourth in the table.
Erling Haaland was substituted off after hitting the deck (Image: Getty)
“The way we played, we remembered what we were and what we have not been this season,” Guardiola explained.
“We always try, but sometimes we cannot do it. I am really pleased with the pace and intensity we had up front, Nico [Gonzalez] and [Abdukodir] Khusanov were extraordinary. We need to win these games to qualify for the Champions League. We have to make this kind of performance to send our people home happy.
“[Omar]Marmoush did really well in Germany, a player with his quality and pace, I was pleased with the way he scored. Against Orient he missed chances, but today in the final third he was really good.”
Meanwhile, manager Eddie Howe was disappointed with how his team gave away the early goals.
“It was a tough day at the office – they played well, we didn’t. The goals were poor moments, we will have to analyse them and work out what we could do better,” he said.
“From the off we were lacking in duels, the physical side. are so good in the build-up, to disrupt that you have to be exceptional physically and we weren’t.
“We can’t look for excuses, there are a load of reasons we could look at, but the players should have been fresh and ready to perform, they didn’t.
“We’ve got some tough games, the fixture list will test us. We have to dust ourselves off for next week.”