Pep Guardiola explained that Erling Haaland was left out of the Manchester City squad to face Liverpool after coming up sore after training on the eve of the match.
Guardiola had hoped to be able to bring his star striker back in after the Norwegian missed the midweek defeat to Real Madrid but the forward failed a late fitness test and was unavailable for the 2-0 loss to Liverpool.
Haaland suffered a injury to his right knee late on in last weekend’s Premier League thrashing of Newcastle, and while the issue appears relatively minor, he did not come through training successfully to be deemed fit enough to return.
“Yesterday after training he didn’t feel good,” Guardiola explained to Sky Sports ahead of kick off at the Etihad Stadium.
“During these nine years we played many seasons without really important players and we survived. This season, we have had a lot of injuries and we could not survive, but in specific games we have to do it.”
Rodri remains absent for Manchester City, while John Stones also faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering an injury against Real Madrid.
Fellow defender Manuel Akanji is also absent for the time being, forcing Guardiola to pair youngsters Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov against Mohamed Salah’s threat from the right. Salah scored one and assisted the other goal as Liverpool extended their lead to 11 points with a first win at the Etihad in 10 years.
After the game Guardiola was asked if Haaland would be fit for City’s trip to Tottenham on Wednesday. He replied: “I don’t know. I am not saying we didn’t get the result because Erling was not there.
“That is unfair on the other players. We could finish more but in general it is fine. So many players are here playing but we know Erling will come and we have important absences. Everyone was really, really good.”
