Haaland remains unstoppable, but injuries worry City
Manchester City achieved a 2-0 away victory against Villarreal in the Champions League, but the triumph left bittersweet feelings for Pep Guardiola. Erling Haaland continues to demonstrate his lethality, while injuries in midfield are accumulating. Haaland, once again, was the protagonist by scoring his 24th goal in 14 matches this season, both at club level and with his national team. The Norwegian striker has 53 goals in 51 Champions League matches and has scored in nine consecutive matches with City in all competitions. The player himself has stated that he is in the best moment of his career. However, the victory came at a cost. Nico González had to leave the field due to a right knee injury at the beginning of the second half. González was substituting for Rodri, who is out with a hamstring injury. Rodri, in turn, missed a large part of last season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Mateo Kovacic entered as a substitute for Gonzalez in the 56th minute, after recently recovering from an Achilles tendon injury that kept him out of the playing fields for five months. Bernardo Silva also scored for City, extending the team’s unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.Guardiola also highlighted the importance of the victory and the team’s good performance, especially in the first half. City broke a streak of five winless away games in the Champions League and has seven points in the group stage. The coach pointed out that the team’s situation is better than last season, when they suffered several injuries. The City’s next challenge will be on Sunday against Aston Villa, where Haaland will seek to score for the seventh consecutive time in the Premier League.I am happy that Erling scored again and that Bernardo also scored, with his head. I remember, it was a bit like Lionel Messi. It’s like a hammer. They have a hammer in their neck. They are small but very good with the header contact.
Pep Guardiola
