Man City Agree to Erling Haaland’s Wish Before Liverpool Match Amid ‘Tired’ Talk
Erling Haaland has been given a short break before he heads back to Manchester City, as the tired striker is racing against time to get ready for Sunday’s big Premier League match against Liverpool. Last week, Haaland asked to be taken off in the 67th minute during Norway’s 2-1 loss to Portugal, which made some people worry he might be injured.
But Norway’s coach, Stale Solbakken, quickly calmed those worries. He explained that Haaland’s early exit was planned because he’s been playing a lot without much rest. “Erling was just really worn out,” said Solbakken. “Some of my players have only had six or seven days off. In a normal job, you don’t rely only on your physical condition. Then comes the start of the season and a mini-tournament, so it’s a lot to handle.”
Solbakken added, “He’s one of the players with the heaviest workload because his team plays in every tournament, and he’s the main guy.”
It’s still not clear if Haaland will be fit to play on Sunday at Anfield, but The Sun reports he’s been allowed a short holiday before returning to training at the Etihad on Thursday. Solbakken also shared that Haaland was offered the chance to start on the bench against Portugal but chose to play. “He could have played the last 45 minutes, but he didn’t feel good about it,” said the coach. “He’s had bad experiences being put on late before.”
For City, they’re also waiting to see how Nico O’Reilly and Antoine Semenyo recover from their injuries. England’s coach Thomas Tuchel says O’Reilly’s problem is minor, while Ghana’s football boss Kurt Okraku mentioned Semenyo has a swollen leg.
As for Liverpool, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo got injured while playing for their countries, and Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, and Federico Chiesa are expected to miss out.