Haaland suffered a tough tackle against Fulham and did not return for the second half against Fulham
Erling Haaland gave a scare to Manchester City for one apparent injury after Pep Guardiola revealed that the striker asked to be substituted during the 3-0 victory over the Fulham for the Premier League.
Haaland scored the third goal of the Manchester City with his first goal of 2026 in play in the Premier League.
But after a strong tackle from the defender Fulham Joachim Anderson in the run-up to City’s second goal, the Norwegian did not reappear after the break.
Guardiola attributed the problem to “annoyance” and said it was Haaland’s decision to retire.
“He had some problems, he feels uncomfortable; it was 3-0, of course,” Guardiola said.
“I didn’t talk to the doctors, I don’t know exactly what he has. Just fatigue or something.”
“He said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable,’ and with 3-0, with so many games, having Omar… it’s common sense.”
Pressed on the issue, Guardiola suggested that Haaland is struggling to cope with the number of games after starting his season at the FIFA Club World Cup in June.
The City manager made reference to Marc Cucurella when talking about Haaland after the Chelsea defender, part of the team that won the Club World Cup, was injured in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Leeds United on Tuesday.
“The reason? Many games,” Guardiola said. “Cucurella is injured, right? Do you know why?”
date: 2026-02-12 01:18:00