Erling Haaland was absent from Manchester City‘s lineup during their victory over Leeds United on Saturday due to a minor injury sustained in training, according to manager Pep Guardiola.
Despite scoring 22 goals in 27 matches for City this season, Haaland missed the game at Elland Road, which is in his hometown, with Rayan Cherki stepping into the starting line-up.
City went to West Yorkshire determined to narrow the points gap to league leaders Arsenal to just two, and they achieved that, with Antoine Semenyo’s goal just before halftime securing the win.
In Haaland’s absence, the forward trio for City consisted of Omar Marmoush, Cherki, and Semenyo, while Phil Foden, Savino, and Jeremy Doku provided attacking options from the bench.
Two days prior to the match, Guardiola commented on Haaland’s situation, saying, “He had some problems and a little injury in training… It’s not a serious issue but he wasn’t ready for today. We are without one top striker but we are deploying another top striker.”
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AP contributed to this report.