Pep Guardiola has provided three reasons to support his decision to take Erling Haaland off at half-time during Manchester City's UEFA Champions League draw with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.
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The Norwegian started up front for the Citizens in their Group G stalemate against his former club at Signal Iduna Park, but came off at the halfway mark, much to the surprise of those in attendance.
Haaland's goalscoring form since joining City has seen him already amass 22 strikes across all competitions this season, with no other player in Europe's top five leagues having reached the 20-goal mark.
Guardiola, though, was clear in his post-match conference in his reasoning for taking the 22-year-old off at half-time.
"There were three things. Firstly, I saw him so tired," he said, according to the Daily Mirror.
"The second one he had a bit of a fever, like Joao Cancelo.
"The third, he had a knock on his foot. That's why he wasn't able to play in the second half."
The Spaniard was asked to elaborate on the potential injury Haaland suffered, but suggested it was too soon to tell.
"I don't know right now," he responded.
"They [City's medical staff] were a little bit concerned at half-time, but I saw him walking okay at the end, so we'll have to see."
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Despite Riyad Mahrez's penalty miss in the second half, the Citizens have booked their spot in the round of 16, as have Dortmund.
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