Absent at Wembley against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final, Erling Haaland is starting to raise some doubts within the ranks of Manchester City.
Manchester City was recovering from a tough week after losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola confirmed his injury, but the concern goes beyond physical issues, even affecting future considerations.
“Haaland is injured. I don’t think it’s serious, but he can’t play today. I don’t know if he will be back for the next match,” Pep Guardiola said this afternoon, before the FA Cup semi final where Manchester City defeated Chelsea to reach the final, with a goal from Bernardo Silva.
This confirmed why he was substituted against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
This injury adds to others he has suffered this season. It remains to be seen how long he will be out, especially as Manchester City continues its fight for the Premier League title, now with a lighter schedule, albeit reluctantly.
In any case, the Norwegian has been under scrutiny since the match against Real Madrid, in which he failed to score in four encounters.
Growing doubts
Last season, the treble he helped achieve somewhat masked his “disappearance” in the big games at the end of the season.
He has 31 goals and 6 assists in 37 matches this season, where he already seems out of the race for a Ballon d’Or that eluded him in 2023. These absences on big days increase suspicions.
No one doubts his scoring ability, but the ongoing challenge is to be decisive in the most crucial games of the season.
According to Foot Mercato, these days, there is even debate in England about whether the style of his team, with many passes and not too many shots, really suits him. He was perfectly marked by Antonio Rüdiger and Nacho.
All of this adds weight to a burden that will start to grow in the coming months, especially in the comparison with Kylian Mbappe that everyone is anticipating.
The season continues, and a summer full of rumors awaits. And nobody can rule out that he might be the subject of those rumors in the future.
