"I didn't want to waste energy for him" - Guardiola on Haaland not playing in Spurs loss

It is yet another season in which Manchester City will not be challenging for the Carabao Cup. The Sky Blues were eliminated from the competition on Wednesday after suffering a 2-1 defeat away to Tottenham.

Because it is not a prestigious competition in England, Pep Guardiola decided to field a starting eleven with a number of changes to rest his regular starters.

However, things got difficult in the first half and after trailing by two goals Matheus Nunes managed to reduce the deficit before the break. Many expected Guardiola to introduce Haaland in an attempt to make a second-half comeback but the Norwegian did not play a single minute and the Sky Blues failed to score an equaliser.

After the defeat, the Spanish coach told a press conference that the plan was for him not to play and that due to the team's injuries and schedule it was better not to waste his energy. "It’s quite simple… the plan was for him not to play this game. He's played a lot of minutes, we knew for this week we’ve no recovery and not much players and I didn't want to waste energy for him," he told 'Sky'. 

 

October 31, 2024