Man City’s No. 1 striker, Erling Haaland, was let off the field early by coach Pep Guardiola after the first half of the 6-1 win over Bournemouth on November 4 in round 11 of the Premier League. This decision is confusing.
Erling Haaland returned to play after attending the Golden Ball award ceremony in Paris (France), with the result ranked second only behind Messi and ahead of Mbappe. Coach Pep Guardiola said: “Haaland is very happy with the voting results because he can compete for the title with Messi and Mbappe.”
Erling Haaland was disappointed in Man City’s 6-1 win over Bournemouth
However, instead of continuing to play explosively, this 23-year-old Norwegian star played uninspired and failed in the match between Man City and Bournemouth. Striker Jeremy Doku replaced Haaland’s role, becoming the brightest star of the “Green Man” when scoring 1 goal and contributing 4 assists for Bernardo Silva (scoring a double), Akanji and Foden scoring. The other goal was scored by Nathan Ake, to beat Bournemouth 6-1 at Etihad’s home field (Sinisterra pulled off a consolation goal for the away team).
More significantly, just after the first half when Man City led 3-0, coach Pep Guardiola suddenly replaced Haaland with Phil Foden. This decision to substitute made the British press wonder, many predicted that Haaland had psychological problems so he had to leave the field early.
“There are no problems. We just don’t want to take risks with Haaland. He had a little problem with his ankle. Haaland feels completely comfortable. He can return to play.” midweek or maybe next weekend,” coach Pep Guardiola explained.
Haaland is likely injured, but the extent is unknown
Erling Haaland is an injury concern for Manchester City (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Haaland is losing stability