Pep Guardiola revealed that he opted to give Erling Haaland a rest during the match against Newcastle United to help the striker regain his “pace” ahead of Manchester City‘s Champions League fixture against Real Madrid.
His absence was notable during City’s 3-1 victory in the FA Cup at St James’ Park on Saturday.
City’s management decided it was more beneficial for Haaland to remain in Manchester for training, rather than travel to Newcastle. He is still recovering from the injury that kept him out of the 1-0 win against Leeds United on February 28.
Haaland is expected to join the squad traveling to Madrid on Tuesday for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 at the Bernabeu.
“I didn’t think it was wise to let him play; I prefer him to focus on training to regain his rhythm,” Guardiola explained. “After an injury, he often struggles to reach his full pace again.”
Manchester City heads to Madrid on an impressive run of 11 unbeaten matches since their 2-0 loss to Bodo/Glimt in January.
Guardiola’s Champions League campaign has been further strengthened by the recent eligibility of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guéhi following their January transfers, along with the return of several key players from injury.
Players such as Jérémy Doku, Savinho, Nico González, John Stones, and Nathan Aké all made their return to the starting lineup against Newcastle after time away from the pitch.
“We learned from our treble-winning season that it’s crucial to have players fit and ready during key moments,” Guardiola stated. “It’s unfortunate that the Premier League title is out of our control. The setback against Nottingham is significant, but we need to focus, recover, and prepare for Madrid. Hopefully, we can perform well regardless of the outcome.”
“My emphasis has always been on maintaining our identity as individuals and as a team, particularly in high-stakes matches against top opponents, rather than fixating solely on winning or losing.”