Pep Guardiola revealed Erling Haaland was taken off as a precaution in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Fulham having complained of discomfort after scoring a goal that moved him level with Colin Bell in the club’s scoring charts.
Haaland got the third of the night, his 153rd goal for the club to move joint fourth all-time for City, following goals from Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly.
But Haaland was then replaced at half-time by Omar Marmoush with City cruising towards a win that moved them to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
“Niggles,” Guardiola said when asked why Haaland was withdrawn. “Some problems, he feels uncomfortable. It was 3-0 of course. The reason why? Many games…
“I didn’t speak with the doctors, I don’t know exactly what he has. Just fatigue or something.”
An injury to their star forward would be the only potential blemish on an otherwise straightforward night for City, who did not need to move too far out of second gear against a disappointing Fulham side who lost for the fourth time in five to lose more ground in the fight for Europe.
Semenyo scored his fifth goal in eight games for City to get things started before teeing up the excellent O’Reilly to get the second in another fine performance from the January signing.
“He has incredible skills and he is so open-minded and generous in the effort,” Guardiola said of the Ghana winger. “He has an incredible sense of goal for the chaos of second goals. Really good.”
