Pep Guardiola has admitted that striker Erling Haaland remains an injury concern, despite the Norwegian making a goalscoring return to the team at the weekend.
Haaland came on as a second-half substitute, after missing the previous two games due to illness and injury, and scored an injury-time winner at home to Fulham on Saturday – his 23rd goal of the season.
The 22-year-old showed no sign of any concerns when he fired home his late penalty and admitted after the match that it had been “one of the most nervous moments” of his life.
“It was a fantastic feeling to score,” Haaland said. “I love it. I have been injured for a week and it was really important for us to win.”
But Guardiola, speaking ahead of Wednesday's League Cup third-round tie against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, revealed that the Norwegian is not yet fully fit.
“He is still not perfect. We will see tomorrow and on Saturday [before the Premier League game against Brentford],” said the Spaniard.
“He is getting better. What's important is the bone is not broken so there's no damage, just the ligament is damaged a little bit. It's not perfect right now, but in one week or 10 days anything can happen – it can change.”
Ths Spanish manager was also asked whether he would be happy for Haaland to play two friendlies for Norway against Republic of Ireland and Finland next week.
“If he feels good,” Guardiola added. “To play for the national team is important for the players. I have no problem for players to when they are fit to play for the national team.”
Man City 2 Fulham 1: player ratings
-
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson 6 – Had little to do, facing just one shot on target, but the Brazilian was sent the wrong way by Pereira from the penalty spot. AP -
John Stones 7 – A solid display at the back. He thought he had doubled City’s lead after placing the ball into an empty net, but Rodri was ruled offside in the build-up. AP -
Manuel Akanji 6 - Some sloppy passing but played well defensively. The Swiss could have headed the hosts into the lead, but his effort was straight at Leno. AFP -
Nathan Ake 6 – A disciplined performance in defence. Moved into left-back following Cancelo’s red card. PA -
Joao Cancelo 4 – Sent off in the 26th minute after bringing down Harry Wilson as the last man. Action Images -
Kevin de Bruyne 8 – The midfielder showed his quality once again, coming close to scoring from outside the box on two occasions. Provided a pin-point cross to assist Haaland’s disallowed goal, and the Belgium won the match-winning penalty in the final minute of added time. Getty -
Rodri 6 – Moved into centre-back after Cancelo’s dismissal, and he dealt well with his defensive duties. AFP -
Ilkay Gundogan 7 – Mopped up in front of the defence and provided a beautifully weighted ball to assist Alvarez’s opening goal. AP -
Bernardo Silva 7 – Plenty of energy and endeavour after his side was reduced to ten men. Carded at the end of the first half for dissent after being tripped by Wilson. Reuters -
Julian Alvarez 7 – Scored the opening goal and blasted the ball past Leno as it rattled off the inside of the crossbar and in. A bright cameo from the Argentinian. AFP -
Jack Grealish 6 – Had two good chances in the first half, but he could not find the required finish. Reuters -
SUBS: Erling Haaland (Alvarez, 64) 8 – Straight into the action, as he thought he had headed home a winner, but VAR chalked it off for offside. The Norwegian was the difference, and he squeezed the ball under Leno from the penalty spot to hand City all three points in the dying minutes. EPA -
Phil Foden (Grealish, 64) 6 – Could not provide any spark after coming on for Grealish in the 64th minute. AFP -
Ruben Dias (Gundogan, 90) N/A. PA -
FULHAM RATINGS: Bernd Leno 5 – Produced a handful of smart saves in the first half and cannot be faulted after he was beaten by the blistering pace of Alvarez’s shot. Could have done better against Haaland’s late penalty, as the ball squeezed underneath the German after he got a hand on it. AFP -
Issa Diop 7 – Stood up well against the pace of Alvarez. The centre-back recovered admirably and forced the ball out for a corner after initially losing the City frontman. AFP -
Tim Ream 5 – Unlike his centre-back partner, the American not look comfortable against Alvarez’s pace and movement. AP -
Antonee Robinson 4 – Naive defending from the left-back as he brought down De Bruyne to concede a needless penalty in the final minute of added time. Getty -
Kenny Tete 6 – A confident display from the right-back. He dealt well with Grealish, but received a yellow card for a late challenge on the England international in the second half. AP -
Joao Palhinha 6 – Relentless work rate and tracked back for his team throughout. AP -
Harrison Reed 6 – Full of energy and always on the move as he looked to open up the defence. Booked after clattering into De Bruyne just before half time. AP -
Willian 6 – Had some respectable moments in possession but loose in some of his passing, and he was substituted in the final ten minutes. AFP -
Andreas Pereira 7 – Carded for a nasty foul on Rodri, and the Brazilian was arguably lucky to have only seen yellow. He went on to equalise minutes later after sending Ederson the wrong way from a spot-kick. Replaced in the closing stages of the game. PA -
Harry Wilson 7 – A lively performance from the winger who provided a threat throughout, winning the penalty in the first half. Got in behind Ake just after the hour mark but sliced his shot wide. Substituted for James after 76 minutes. PA -
Vinicius 5 - Quiet game from the striker, and he didn’t offer all that much in attack before he was replaced by Cairney. Getty -
SUBS: Tom Cairney (Vinicius, 76) N/A. Getty -
Daniel James (Wilson, 76) N/A. AP -
Kevin Mbabu (Willian, 80) N/A. Luke Bernard Harris (Pereira, 88) N/A. Getty
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager also revealed that defender Kyle Walker and midfielder Kalvin Phillips are still not fully recovered from their respective groin and shoulder problems.
While he confirmed Phillips will be in the squad to face Graham Potter's side, Guardiola said Walker will not feature and on their potential involvement in the World Cup with England, he added: “That is up to Gareth Southgate. I cannot answer, I don't know what is the plan.
“I think they are communicating with the physios and doctors – the club and the English national team. Apart from that I cannot answer you, I don't know.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday, Phillips – a summer signing from Leeds United who has made just three substitute appearances since moving to City – insisted he was “very hopeful” of making England's squad for the finals in Qatar.
“The shoulder's perfectly fine now,” he said. “I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great.
“I've obviously not done it for quite a long time now but I've kept my fitness up and I'd like to think I could play 90 minutes.”
