Pep Guardiola reveals when he’ll finally unleash Erling Haaland as brilliant De Bruyne double seals friendly win
Pep Guardiola has revealed that he will finally let Erling Haaland loose in Manchester City’s friendly clash with Bayern Munich in Green Bay on Saturday.
The City chief admits the Norwegian frontman, who cost £51million this summer, has been carrying a few injury issues and was again not risked in the overnight 2-1 victory over Club America in Texas.
However, Guardiola has ruled out the chances of missing any Premier League time. Indeed, the Spaniard insists City’s new No.9 will take on the Bundesliga champions this weekend.
Guardiola said: “Next game, Erling will be ready. He’s had niggles and a few problems. We’ll see. He’s trained just two sessions and didn’t want to take risks. The season is so long.”
More than 61,000 fans were in attendance at the NRG Stadium. However, they failed to see Haaland take to the pitch on his 22nd birthday as he remained on the City bench.
He was, however, cheered every time the camera showed his face on the big screens.
Haaland actually missed 16 games in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund last season. But despite that Guardiola is confident in the player’s overall fitness.
Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland will make his debut in their game against Bayern Munich on Sunday 🔵pic.twitter.com/gWMNOHsibI
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) July 21, 2022
Dortmund coach Marco Rose admitted that the striker was quite often asked to play through the pain barrier last season.
That did not effect his form though, with Haaland notching 29 goals in 30 games in all competitions.
As for the pre-season action, City lifted the Copa de Lone Star overnight after beating the Mexican outfit 2-1. And it was that man Kevin de Bruyne again, with the Belgian netting with two superb strikes.
Aguero sends word of warning over Haaland
Meanwhile, City legend Sergio Aguero has sent a word of warning to those expecting Haaland to start firing straight away.
Despite Haaland‘s incredible scoring record since bursting onto the scene, Aguero has offered words of caution over his debut Premier League campaign.
The Argentine believes the 21-year-old will need time to adapt to English football and Guardiola’s style.
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