Erling Haaland wasn’t substituted in for Man City’s game against Newcastle, according to Pep Guardiola.
Wednesday’s Carabao Cup match between Manchester City and Newcastle ended in a loss, despite the absence of striker Erling Haaland.
Despite Manchester City losing 1-0 to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola claimed he never intended to play Erling Haaland against them.
Along with the captains Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias, Haaland was given the day off at St. James’ Park and stayed on the bench despite Newcastle taking the lead in the 51st minute.
Julian Alvarez struggled to maintain his early-season form playing upfront on his own and was replaced by Phil Foden in the second half.
Guardiola resisted the urge to substitute Haaland for City, who were now without a striker, saying that his striker needed a break after starting every game so far this season and winning all but one of them.
Guardiola gave this justification for resting Haaland: “I thought Kyle was a lot of minutes, Erling was a lot of minutes. We have a lot of games ahead of us.
Maybe in the final 10-15 minutes to “turn him on,” but I opted not to.
Since I’ve been here, we have scored many goals.
Even though Newcastle is a top team, the statistics show that we score a lot of goals with different strikers, wingers, and attacking midfielders.
Really good defensive play.
Even though it’s difficult, we still have time to take advantage of our opportunities for the final pass or action, which is what I’m going for.
“.
Guardiola also emphasized that his starting lineup was the same as the teams he has faced in the Carabao Cup in recent years, saying: “We decide for this lineup but always have done that in the Carabao Cup since day one arrive.”. I always take on players who don’t regularly play in the Carabao Cup.
“If you proceed, proceed. When you get to the semifinals, tell yourself, “Okay, now we try to win it.”.
At that point in the competition, I don’t want to expend energy in vain.
The guys who play are unfortunately unable to play due to a lot of injuries.
men who don’t regularly play today.
Unfortunately, I play Manu Akanji, a character I would prefer to rest from, but that is the course of action we always take.
“.
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