Erling Haaland could be a doubt for Manchester City's Premier League match against Leicester City after the Norwegian striker was removed at half time of Tuesday's Champions League clash at Borussia Dortmund with a fever and a "knock to his foot", manager Pep Guardiola said.
City played out a goalless draw with Dortmund, after Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty, to secure top spot in Group G, and Guardiola lauded his players' efforts of advancing to the last 16 with one game remaining.
"When you qualify with one game left, it is the biggest compliment to the team," he said. "We make an exceptional group stage - every game we played, we did really well.
"We will play Sevilla, with fresh people who didn’t play regularly and the same in the Carabao Cup and focus in the Premier League on these three finals we have - Leicester away, then Fulham and Brentford and after, as everyone knows, the World Cup.
"The most important thing is when we come back from the World Cup and the Champions League is back we will be there with the most important clubs in Europe."
However, Guardiola could be left counting the cost of City's hectic schedule, with both Joao Cancelo and Haaland taken off at half time.
"Joao with fever made an incredible effort," he said. "I want to say thank you to Joao because we don't have Sergio [Gomez] or Kyle [Walker] and John [Stones] made an effort to come back.
Dortmund v Man City player ratings
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BORUSSIA DORTMUND PLAYER RATINGS: Gregor Kobel 7 – Had very little to do until he faced Mahrez from the spot, and he saved the Algerian’s penalty to keep the scores level. He followed this with saves from Gundogan and Alvarez. Getty -
Nico Schlotterbeck 8 – An impressive night for the tall centre-back, who together with Hummels kept Haaland quiet, and reduced City to mainly half chances. Whipped up the crowd towards the end, too. AP -
Mats Hummels 8 – Did a magnificent job on Haaland, reducing the Norwegian to a shot from distance, which Hummels blocked. Used all of his experience to read the danger and block, clear and distribute when necessary. AP -
Niklas Sule 6 – Played deeper than usual but in a right-back position and though a little rusty, he did well up against Phil Foden. Getty -
Giovanni Reyna 7 – The 19-year-old came close with a shot following a neat move between Bellingham and Adeyemi, but he couldn’t trouble Ortega. Getty -
Emre Can 7 – Made a crunching tackle on Haaland to stop the giant Norwegian in his tracks, which was adjudged to have been a foul. Brilliant at winning the ball back, though was guilty of bringing down Mahrez for the penalty. PA -
Jude Bellingham 8 – Dortmund were always dangerous on the counter and, on one occasion, Bellingham released Adeyemi on the right-hand side, only for Dortmund to find Ortega in the way. Bellingham had a shooting chance himself, but slipped at the vital moment. Impressive. Reuters -
Thorgan Hazard 5 – Another playing slightly deeper than usual, he was ineffective and later substituted. EPA -
Julian Brandt 8 – Got off to a lively start, first by running at Stones and then by curling a free-kick over the bar from 25 yards. Looked excellent on the ball, even in tight areas. Getty -
Youssoufa Moukoko 5 – Had the best chance of the first half to break the deadlock, but angled the ball wide following a perfect cross from Adeyemi. Played well, but he lacked the killer touch when he needed it most. AFP -
Karim Adeyemi 7 – Enjoyed a fascinating tussle with Cancelo in which both players tried to utilise the space behind each other. He looked dangerous when he went forward, delivering a number of teasing crosses. EPA -
SUBS: Donyell Malen (Adeyemi 73’) N/A – A downgrade on the dangerous Adeyemi. AFP -
Anthony Modeste (Moukoko 82’) N/A – Ineffective late cameo from Modeste. AFP -
Marius Wolf (Hazard 82’) N/A – Decent option from the bench, putting himself about around the City box. AFP -
Antonios Papadopoulos (Reyna 87’) N/A – The youngster didn’t have much of a chance to showcase his ability. Getty -
MANCHESTER CITY PLAYER RATINGS: Stefan Ortega 8 – The busier of the two keepers and made a number of routine saves. Looked good with the ball at his feet. Happy to dive onto the ball in the second half when Dortmund had several pops at goal. Clean sheet on his debut. EPA -
John Stones 7 – Starting on the right-hand side, he got off to a strong start by dispossessing Brandt on the run but then looked uncomfortable. Shifted to the centre and was much better. AP -
Ruben Dias 8 – A strong presence in the centre, winning most things in the air and on the floor. AFP -
Nathan Ake 7 – Started in the centre but was reshuffled to the left when Cancelo was substituted. Kept possession well. AFP -
Joao Cancelo 5 – Looked to bomb forward at every opportunity to get the other side of Adeyemi, but this – together with his booking – meant he left plenty of space for Adeyemi to exploit. Substituted at the break. AFP -
Riyad Mahrez 5 – Started the game with a delightful touch to bring the ball down from Rodri. His touch deserted him later in the first half, however, when put through by Haaland. He was brought down by Can to earn a penalty, but he couldn’t convert from 12 yards. Later came close with a volley. AP -
Rodri 5 – Joined Gundogan as a holding midfielder and though he kept the ball moving, he wasn’t as effective as usual. Getty -
Ilkay Gundogan 6 – Always looking to get the ball from deep. When he did venture forward, he shot straight at Kobel from an angle. Got forward more in the second half. Getty -
Phil Foden 5 – Poor in the first half. Started the second half much stronger and after scooping the ball over, he delivered a dangerous cross that led to City being an awarded a penalty. AFP -
Julian Alvarez 5 – Played as a no.10 behind Haaland, but had to wait until midway through the second half to get his first sniff at goal. Kobel saved. AFP -
Erling Haaland 5 – Came to life after 16 minutes when his presence caused carnage in the Dortmund area and led to a corner. Beyond that, he struggled to get the better of Hummels and was replaced at the break. Getty -
SUBS: Manuel Akanji (Cancelo 46’) 6 – Did well to stop Moukoko in his tracks as Dortmund attempted to strike on the break. Was harshly booked when he blocked Adeyemi’s shot with his arm. AFP -
Bernardo Silva (Haaland 46’) 8 – City looked much better when he came on, the Portuguese midfielder driving City forward and linking well with Foden. PA -
Jack Grealish (Foden 81’) N/A – Probably felt unlucky not to start given Mahrez’s performance, but couldn’t make the breakthrough when he came on. AP -
Cole Palmer (Mahrez 88’) N/A – Valuable minutes in the tank for the youngster. EPA
"I appreciate what they have done and Julian made an incredible effort defensively. It was so difficult for him but in general, especially in the second half, we did a good performance."
On Haaland, who has scored 22 goals in all competitions for City so far this season, Guardiola added: "Three things: I saw him so tired. Second one, he had a little bit of influenza in his body. Like Joao - Joao had a fever.
"Then the third, he had a knock to his foot. That’s why he was not able to play the second half."
