Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola explains his reason why he substituted Erling Haaland during their Champions League match against Slovan Bratislava (4-0)

Erling Haaland looked irritated at times during Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava.

Several City players often tried to score instead of setting up chances for the Norwegian.

Multiple players, though, marked Haaland inside the box on Tuesday night.

That made it harder for the Manchester City players to set up chances for the 24-year-old.

Fair enough, a few players’ shots from outside the box put the home team’s goalie to the test.

Phil Foden, for example, not only got a great goal but also hit the post during the game.

Ilkay Gundogan and Jeremy Doku both had shots that hit the goal.

Guardiola shows how Haaland really feels after being taken off

Finally, Haaland scored his first goal in the Champions League this season by running in behind the goalie at the right time and rounding him to make it 2-0 for City in the 58th minute.

The two-time Premier League winner was then taken off and replaced by James McAtee.

Pep Guardiola and Haaland were seen talking after Haaland was taken off.

The scorer who used to play for Borussia Dortmund would have been hoping to score more after finally notching one.

But Guardiola looked like he was keen to stay in shape.

People asked Pep Guardiola if Haaland was upset that he was taken off on Tuesday night.

The manager, who makes £378,846 a week, joked on HaytersTV, “Erling [Haaland] is never disappointed with his manager.” No way, no how

“As a manager, I feel safer and happier when Erling is on the pitch,” Guardiola said. Therefor, I will always keep him on the pitch. But with a score of 0–3, the game was almost over. Considering how many games we have, you need to watch out for him.

“He got hurt badly last week against Newcastle, so it’s best to take him off after a great goal by Rico Lewis and a 0–3 score.”

Smart move by Pep Guardiola to replace Erling Haaland
As Pep Guardiola said, the game was pretty much over when Haaland scored to make it 3-0 to Manchester City.

The two-time Premier League winner had been hurt against Newcastle United, so it would have been risky to let him keep playing and possibly get hurt again.

Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, and Nathan Ake are already hurt, which means Manchester City is missing some important players. Adding Haaland to that list would have been terrible for the team.

Because of this, Guardiola made the right choice by taking off the player who was scoring goals.

Now, City’s number nine can rest and get better before their game against Fulham.

Haaland will be happy that he is back in the scoring column after not scoring against Newcastle.