Erling Haaland was only fit enough for a bench role for Manchester City’s make-or-break Champions League playoff against Real Madrid on Wednesday after tweaking his knee on the weekend.
Haaland was substituted during City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle United last Saturday with an apparent noncontact injury.
Pep Guardiola was previously optimistic about Haaland’s prospects, saying that “the doctor didn’t tell me bad news,” but the manager was ultimately forced to start January signing Omar Marmoush up front.
“He trained a bit yesterday and we spoke this morning and he said he doesn’t feel good,” Guardiola told TNT Sports before the match at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Kevin De Bruyne also started on the bench after playing in the 3-2 first-leg defeat.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1)
Ederson; Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol; Ilkay Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez; Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Savinho; Omar Marmoush
Real Madrid (4-3-3)
Thibaut Courtois; Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger, Raul Asencio, Ferland Mendy; Dani Ceballos, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham; Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior