by Pep Guardiola has dismissed fears that top scorer Erling Haaland has suffered an injury ahead of Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.
The prolific Norwegian striker was filmed holding his shin after feeling apparent pain during a training session open to the media on Monday.
Yet manager Guardiola confirmed the 24-year-old was in good shape after the team arrived in the Portuguese capital later that evening.
“He’s fine,” Guardiola said, before adding a touch of sarcasm. “You have to occupy the news for 24 hours, you have to make the news as much as possible. This is the reason why.
The news will no doubt come as some relief to City who have been battling a long injury list in recent weeks.
John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias have not been included in the traveling party to face Sporting, while Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku are among those not in full form.
Guardiola said: “Manu and Nathan still have problems. Kevin is doing better, he is doing sessions with less and less pain, so we feel that he feels more comfortable. This is good news for all of us.
“Kyle has also had knee problems since he was with the national team. Doku had a little muscle problem, Savinho is better with his ankle. The rest is fine.
They will be hoping to get back to winning ways after defeats in their last two outings – in the Carabao Cup at Tottenham last week and at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
“I know our standards,” Guardiola said. “We obviously have to get back to winning games, but it’s early November and a lot is going to happen.
“Maybe we’ll lose to Brighton and Tottenham, but we’ve lost a game and we’re only two points behind a top team in Liverpool.
“I know people expect us to win 38 games 5-0 and win the treble every season because those are our standards, but that’s not going to happen.
“Bournemouth deserved to win by far. They were better that day. That doesn’t mean we’re bad, we’re not going to fight for titles.
“When you lose sometimes, the opponents can be better. Tomorrow we have to improve.
Guardiola faces next Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim on Tuesday and the Portuguese take over at Old Trafford later this month.
City won 5-0 when the teams met at the José Alvalade Stadium in 2022, but Guardiola does not expect the same result this time.
He said: “It’s a different game, it’s a different statement.”
