Man City boss Pep Guardiola explains Erling Haaland’s substitution decision against Leicester City

Pep Guardiola said he decided to take off Erling Haaland at half-time for Manchester City A 3-1 win over Leicester to prevent the striker from getting injured.

The forward converted his penalty before netting his 47th goal of the season to make it three for his side after John Stones dropped the opener. Both scorers were replaced at halftime.

Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri and Jack Grealish were substituted in the second half, while Ilkay Gundogan and Nathan Ake remained on the bench for Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

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And speaking to the BBC after the game, Guardiola explained why he ended Haaland’s game early.

“We subbed to get the players rested, but we lost some control, although overall it was a deserved win,” he said. “We start the game to win the game. The game is never done until it’s done.

“But after 3-0 and especially with control and Erling Haaland played all 90 minutes against Bayern Munich and it was so difficult that we have to think about injuries. We are lucky after the Bayern Munich game that we play at home, not away. You could see how focused we were.”

Speaking further on Sky Sports about the second-half substitutions, he added: “I had to avoid [injuries]. I always have to try better and avoid it. Usually when you make changes, it happens.”

Guardiola was generally pleased with his side’s performance as they claimed a 10th straight win and cut the gap on leaders Arsenal to three points ahead of the Gunners’ trip to West Ham on Sunday.

“It was a really good game even after the Champions League,” he added. “Against a club that is fighting in a difficult position for them. In the end, when you make a lot of substitutions, you drop a bit. [We got the] three points and on to the next one.

“Of course we were worried [when Leicester scored], so we made one mistake and another they had a chance with James Maddison and then Kelechi Iheanacho. The game was difficult for the last 20 minutes. But the first 55, 60 minutes were good.

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