Pep Guardiola has emphasized the importance of managing Erling Haaland’s workload, even if it means City playing with less confidence at times.
Following Manchester City’s Champions League victory over Slovan Bratislava, Haaland scored a composed goal after rounding the goalkeeper, helping to secure the win.
After the match, Haaland and Guardiola were seen having an extended conversation as they left the field together.
While Guardiola would prefer to have Haaland play for the entire duration of every match, he is mindful of the striker’s health, particularly due to the busy schedule the team faces.
After a physical clash at St. James’ Park against Newcastle over the weekend, Haaland, who had already contributed to a comfortable lead in Slovakia, recognized it was time to step off the field and rest.
Guardiola explained his decision to manage Haaland’s minutes, saying, “I would keep him playing all the time, but we need to take care of him. After going up 3-0, the game was practically done.
He took a serious knock in the last game against Newcastle, which is why after Rico’s fantastic assist that led to the third goal, we decided it was enough for him.”
In addition to Haaland’s contribution, Manchester City’s James McAtee made an impact by scoring his first goal as a substitute, which extended City’s lead to 4-0 and improved their goal differential in the Champions League. McAtee’s strike further solidified City’s dominance in the match and ensured a comfortable victory.
Despite the significant margin, Guardiola was not overly concerned about goal differential in the competition. He admitted that while someone had mentioned the importance of goal difference to him, it wasn’t something he focused on. His primary goal was to secure victories, especially given the tough fixtures ahead.
Guardiola acknowledged that City faces a challenging run of away matches, making it crucial to collect as many points as possible. He added that their win against Slovan Bratislava was an important first step toward climbing the group standings.
“We need to score a lot of points,” Guardiola said. “Today’s win is the first step toward moving up the table. I don’t think too much about the goal differential; winning games will be enough.”
