Manchester City struggled to trouble Alisson without star striker Erling Haaland in a second defeat of the week
Pep Guardiola hopes Erling Haaland will be back soon but will leave any decision on a return up to his striker.
Medical tests on the No.9 since the knock to his knee that he picked up against Newcastle have shown him to be fine, yet Haaland himself has not felt able to shake off the problem. On the bench against Real Madrid simply because he had travelled to Spain with the squad, the 24-year-old watched City’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool from the stands.
Guardiola cannot say for certain when Haaland will return because it will come down to how the Norwegian feels. Having trained well before the game but still been in discomfort, hopes that Haaland will be back in the squad to face Tottenham away on Wednesday cannot be guaranteed.
“I don’t know. I would like to know but I don’t know,” said Guardiola. “His knee – the moment against Newcastle moved the knee. Apparently he’s not injured because the scans dictate that he’s fine but he didn’t feel fine.
“I have the feeling it will be soon because he trained yesterday and made some really good movements but he said he was not ready and we have to respect that. Hopefully he can be back for Spurs and the next games to help us.”
City will look to improve their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League when they head to North London on Wednesday before a trip to Nottingham Forest next week completes a tricky run of fixtures for Guardiola’s side. A top-four finish had already been set as a revised target long before the Liverpool defeat, and the manager is happy that motivation of his players is not an issue.
“If it doesn’t happen it’s because we were not good enough, not because a lack of hunger and desire,” he said. “We saw it against Newcastle and we saw it again today.
“It is so tight with four or five teams and Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Aston Villa are so good. it will not be easy but we will try. If it happens, it’s because we deserve it. If it doesn’t, it’s because we were not good enough.