Antonio Rudiger kept him ‘bottled’. So Erling Haaland is not found that way when he falls in front of Real Madrid.
But Chelsea’s defense couldn’t put Haaland to the test. The Norwegian striker for Manchester City has been able to play his usual game against Chelsea in the past. He has two goals and one assist in four matches so far against the London club.
Manchester City will face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals tonight at London’s historic Wembley Stadium. But there is concern about getting Haaland into this match. City coach Pep Guardiola expressed his concern at the pre-match press conference yesterday.
Guardiola picked up Haaland at the end of the scheduled 90 minutes in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid last Wednesday. At that time, many may have thought that Guardiola brought down Julián Alvarez by picking up Haaland as part of a change of strategy because he failed to score against Real. But the truth is that Holland was slightly injured that day.
“Kevin (De Bruyne) is fine,” Guardiola said in response to a reporter’s question about Holland’s game. The case of Erling Haaland has to be seen. He has a slight injury and a little problem. We will monitor how well he is doing in the next few hours.”
Guardiola also said what kind of injury Haaland has suffered: “The match (against Real) was very difficult. Both teams fought hard for 120 minutes. Erling felt the muscles tense. That’s why he told me, “I can’t continue playing anymore.” Anyway, we will take a final decision after looking at his situation tomorrow (today).”
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