Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed Haaland’s fitness concern following a pre-season friendly against Barcelona. The match, which ended in a 2-2 draw before Barcelona won on penalties, took place in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday.
Haaland, who has been a prolific scorer for City since his arrival in July 2022, was substituted at half-time after an underwhelming performance. The Norwegian forward managed only 11 touches and four passes during his 45-minute appearance, fueling Haaland’s fitness concern.
“Erling is not comfortable,” Guardiola revealed in a post-match interview. “We don’t want to take risks. But sooner or later he has to take a step with training and minutes.“
This marks the second consecutive friendly where Haaland has been removed at half-time, following a similar substitution in the match against AC Milan. With the Community Shield clash against Manchester United looming on August 10, Guardiola is closely monitoring Haaland’s condition.
“The season is there, around the corner,” the City boss added. “He has niggles, muscular, we don’t want to take a risk and lose him for three weeks or a month. That would be a problem.“
Despite these Haaland fitness concerns, his impact at Manchester City has been undeniable. Since joining from Borussia Dortmund, he has scored an impressive 90 goals in 98 appearances, playing a crucial role in City’s recent Premier League and Champions League triumphs.
City will conclude their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Chelsea in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday before the Premier League season kicks off.
In other news, Guardiola praised Barcelona’s performance under new coach Hansi Flick, noting the team’s “extraordinary” positional play despite the limited time they’ve had to adapt to Flick’s tactics.
